The new footage, exclusive to EW (above), shows why The Expanse is considered the most ambitious production in the cable channel’s history.

Premiering on Syfy this December, The Expanse is a 10-episode space drama set 200 years in the future, after mankind has colonized the solar system. A hardened detective (Thomas Jane) and a rogue ship’s captain (Steven Strait) come together for what starts as the case of a missing young woman and evolves into a race across the solar system to expose “the greatest conspiracy in human history.” The series is based on the popular New York Times bestselling book series collectively known as The Expanse, by James S. A. Corey.