Ross Martin's film debut.
After a dispute over how to depict the surface of Mars, Chesley Bonestell claimed never to have seen the final movie.
None of the actors' names appear in the opening credits. Their names appear only in the end credits.
The spaceship design was taken from Wernher von Braun's actual designs that appeared in a 1954 issue of Collier's.
The spaceship model was later used as a background set decoration in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.