For the surface of Mars, the filmmakers shot in Moab, Utah, where they found giant cliffs, red rocks, a lack of vegetation, and the overall scale of what could be a distant planet.
To prepare for their roles as astronauts, the three stars attended Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, riding in simulators and participating in other activities.
When Randall is singing "He's got the whole world in his hands" on the world broadcast, he starts faking singing in foreign languages. Ironically, he actually says in French: "Je suis le papillon sur la table", which translates to "I am the butterfly on the table".
The filmmakers spent nine weeks at the Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas, shooting at the famous Rocket Park (the gargantuan Building 9 that houses all of the spacecraft mock-ups for the ongoing shuttle missions) and Building 32, which houses the world's largest thermal vacuum chamber and simulates all conditions of outer space (except zero gravity).
The president is always shown in tight shots. They built an impressive Oval Office set that you basically never see.