Syfy will combine its traditions of space opera and limited series in December with Ascension, a murder mystery set on a starship traveling 100 years to find a new place for humanity to prosper. Starring Tricia Helfer, Brian Van Holt, Brandon P. Bell and Andrea Roth, the six-hour event will air over three nights, beginning Dec. 15.

The cable channel has debuted three new videos for Ascension, with the first taking a look at the trip's early days in 1963. The second picks up more in the present as a young girl discovers a murdered woman aboard the ship, while the third takes a behind-the-scenes look at the science behind the sci-fi.

In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

(via Laughing Squid)