It is a prequel to the 1999 space-based real-time strategy video game Homeworld.
The game is set on the desert planet of Kharak, the home-in-exile of the Kushan (Hiigaran) people, one hundred years prior to the events of Homeworld. A Kushan satellite detects an anomaly in the Great Desert, later revealed to be an ancient crashed starship. An expedition is sent by the "Coalition of the Northern Kiithid" into enemy territory to investigate, under the leadership of chief science officer Rachel S'jet (an ancestor of Karan S'jet, the protagonist of the original games)
Source: Wikipedia, "Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak", available under the CC-BY-SA License.