By Mark Prigg PUBLISHED: 07:30 EST, 23 May 2013 | UPDATED: 10:58 EST, 23 May 2013 It is the camera used to photograph the Earth from an orbiting space station 40 years before Commander Chris Hadfield captured the world's attention with his pictures from the International Space Station. A rare Nasa camera used aboard Skylab, the first US Space Station, which orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, is set to be auctioned. The modified Hasselblad 500 EL/M was specially adapted to work in the cramped conditions about Skylab - and be operated while wearing spacesuits.
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Camera was taken into orbit during the NASA's Skylab 3 and Skylab 4 missions in 1973
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Specially adapted camera could take pictures in cramped condition, and film could be changed while wearing a spacesuit
@placeholder also replaced the reflex mirror with an eye-level finder to make it easier to use in cramped conditions