The Woody Woodpecker cartoon used in the movie was updated and then used by NASA to explain space travel to the public.
The effects of acceleration is shown by the way the actor's faces distort. According to a magazine article this was done by gluing thin strips of flesh-colored fabric on their faces. The fabric was in turn tied to fishing line which was passed through the "acceleration couches" and pulled by crew members to stretch the skin.
The panoramic view of the lunar scenery was a Chesley Bonestell painting 13 feet long, mounted on wheels and rolled past a stationary camera. To make the stars appear brightly luminous, 534 holes were punched in the painting and illuminated from behind.
Destination Moon was the first film to have a computer in it. It is UCLA's differential analyzer, a mechanical analog computer used to solve differential equations. The same footage of it is also shown in When Worlds Collide (1951).
In order to make the space suits appear to be in a vacuum they were padded to make them seem inflated. The padding and the studio lights made the suits so hot the actors could wear them for only a few minutes at a time.
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