FILM · 2000
Mission to Mars
53 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (53)
- #001
The producers created the Martian landscape in a vast sand pit near Vancouver. At roughly two million square meters, it was one of the largest sets ever built for a film.
- #002
Many props from the film, including the large rotating wheel set and the spacecraft model, are now displayed in the queue area of the "Mission: Space" ride at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Florida.
- #003
Gore Verbinski was originally set to direct the film. When the budget was increased, Brian De Palma became interested. Rewrites were also done on the script.
- #004
The crew used more than 14,000 gallons of paint to spray the soil "Mars red."
- #005
Each spacesuit cost about $100,000 to build. A real NASA spacesuit, however, costs between 10 and 12 million dollars.
- #006
More than 400 technicians were directly involved in the production stages of the special effects, spanning visuals, miniatures and animation.
- #007
It was released the same year as another Mars-themed film, Red Planet (2000). Both were critical and commercial failures.
- #008
The film is set in the year 2020.
- #009
While making the film, the producers obtained NASA's most up-to-date plans for its Mars mission.
- #010
The crew used a real 2,000 lb. rock to get behind the astronauts.
- #011
Armin Mueller-Stahl, who plays Ray Beck (the commander of the space station), is not credited, and the character does not appear.
- #012
Each actor had their own "crew" to get into their spacesuits. It still took 45 minutes. They also weighed 62 lbs. Each.
- #013
Real-life shuttle astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave plays one of the capcom workers at the space station in the Mars mission command center in the first part of the story.
- #014
This dust is blown by ten massive 350-horsepower wind machines. The entire crew wore gas masks while shooting it.
- #015
All the ships were based on real NASA craft and used materials from real aerospace companies.
- #016
The rotating circles that represent the aliens' countdown are actually counting down in binary. The circles in their horizontal and vertical configurations correspond to zeros (0) and ones (1), respectively, with the least significant bit (LSB) on the viewer's left. The order in which they rotate corresponds to a binary countdown. The leftmost lit circle is not part of the binary count. There is an "all horizontal" starting pattern from which the countdown begins (starting with "all vertical").
- #017
The idea for the huge white room came from production designer Ed Verreaux. The entire structure is inspired by modern art. It is simple, clean and minimal.
- #018
The team reflected copper light onto the actors to imitate the orange atmosphere of the Martian sky.
- #019
One might think that Teflon-coated spacesuits would not get dirty the way Luke's suit does, but that would be wrong. The Apollo suits were also coated with Teflon. During the Apollo 11 mission, Collins would not let Armstrong and Aldrin return to the Command Module because their suits were covered in moon dust.
- #020
Gary Sinise took on this "All-American" role because he had played a villain in Reindeer Games (2000).
- #021
In 1985, astronauts actually drank soda in space as part of an experiment.
- #022
Full-body weightless shots were created by suspending the actors on wires.
- #023
It was Ennio Morricone's third film score for Brian De Palma, after The Untouchables (1987) and Casualties of War (1989).
- #024
All of the plants are real. They were grown hydroponically in a liquid medium rather than in soil.
- #025
The crew painted the interior of the space station blue to imitate Earth.
- #026
To create the illusion of weightlessness, Brian De Palma moved the camera.
- #027
Don Cheadle actually slept alone outdoors to understand the environment and isolation.
- #028
Jerry O'Connell took the role because he had studied Brian De Palma's films in film school.
- #029
After his experiences making this film, Brian De Palma grew frustrated working within the Hollywood studio system. He was so fed up that he boarded a plane to Paris and devoted the rest of his career to making films outside the studio system.
- #030
There were theme park attractions called Mission to Mars at Disneyland and at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Both opened in 1975, but Disneyland's closed in November 1992, while the Magic Kingdom's lasted until October of the following year. Gary Sinise narrates the Mission: Space attraction at EPCOT.
- #031
The team placed small film lights inside all the actors' helmets to illuminate their faces.
- #032
Gary Sinise also plays an astronaut who misses the mission in Apollo 13 (1995).
- #033
It was selected by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the ten best films of 2000 (#04).
- #034
Gary Sinise was strapped into a chair that actually spun him around until he told Brian De Palma to stop.
- #035
It is one of two science fiction Mars films released in 2000, both of which had portions shot in Wadi Rum in Jordan. The films are Red Planet (2000) and Mission to Mars (2000).
- #036
(At 34:17) HIDDEN MICKEY: For a moment, as the Mars recovery vehicle approaches the planet, Mars itself, the spacecraft's rotating circular center and the round satellite dish sitting along the spine align to form the friendly, familiar Mickey Mouse logo.
- #037
The watch worn by the crew sent to determine what happened on the first mission to Mars is the Omega X-33.
- #038
The Martian face structure and the Martian woman hologram appear to be designed based on ancient Egyptian art of women. At the end of the film, as the Martian starship prepares to lift off, the face structure collapses and the face's nose falls off, just as the Great Sphinx of Giza is missing its nose.
- #039
Tim Robbins and Connie Nielsen had a 35-foot area to dance in, which was more space than any real spacecraft offered.
- #040
Mission to Mars shares much in common with The Martian (2015) and the 2011 novel it is based on. Both follow a crew trying to rescue the lone astronaut left behind on Mars, and in both cases the astronaut survives by growing food during their time stranded on the planet.
- #041
The cast includes one Oscar winner, Tim Robbins, and three nominees: Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle and Armin Mueller-Stahl.
- #042
When the inner door opens inside the alien structure, the score plays a four-note musical theme with a somewhat ominous feel. It is borrowed directly from the Mars movement of Holst's The Planets suite, Mars being the Roman god of war. A more pleasant variation follows, reflecting the being's friendly nature. A similar ominous theme based on the same piece was reportedly developed for the Klingons in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), though it conveyed a far more threatening feel.
- #043
Peter Outerbridge's character is named Sergei Kirov. Sergei Mironovich Kirov was a leader of the communist movement in the former USSR and head of the party in the former city of Leningrad (in reality St. Petersburg). He was among the first to be killed in Joseph Stalin's "Great Purges."
- #044
The communications display screen aboard the Mars Recovery was created by Silicon Graphics, hence the SGI abbreviation logo.
- #045
Monica Potter was originally cast in the role of Terri Fisher.
- #046
On the right side of the video monitor where the rescue team and Don Cheadle's character first see his face is the label "STS-4." In Apollo 13, Gary Sinise played astronaut Ken Mattingly, the man who missed the mission. The real Ken Mattingly was commander of the fourth space shuttle mission, designated STS-4.
- #047
The film earned Brian De Palma a Golden Raspberry Award nomination in the Worst Director category, and he lost to Roger Christian for Battlefield Earth (2000).
- #048
It reunites Jerry O'Connell and Elise Neal, both of whom appeared in Scream 2 (1997).
- #049
Gary Sinise and Kim Delaney later joined the CSI franchise: Sinise played Mac Taylor on CSI: NY (2004) and Delaney played Megan Donner on CSI: Miami (2002).
- #050
It reunites Don Cheadle and Elise Neal, both of whom appeared in Rosewood (1997).
- #051
This was Robert Bailey Jr.'s first film.
- #052
Tim Robbins and Gary Sinise had both appeared in prison-life dramas directed by Frank Darabont and adapted from works by the novelist Stephen King. Robbins starred in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Sinise in The Green Mile (1999).
- #053
The music used for the theatrical trailer came from the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992).
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work