Go behind the scenes of one of the biggest group projects in history.

The James Webb Space Telescope is a massive, gold-coated telescope currently in orbit nearly a million miles away from Earth. It can show us clear images of the first stars in existence, other galaxies, and potentially habitable planets. But before it was launched, there was a long, impressively conducted period of construction and the photos of it look like they’re straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Here’s some scientists operating massive cranes, installing gargantuan golden mirrors, and taking cool selfies all in the name of furthering our knowledge of space. 

All images provided by NASA.