The board game being played by Sophie's family while on Mars is Terraforming Mars, a real game released in 2016.
The college drone scene is Iowa State University's campus. The actual college does have an aerospace engineering major as well.
The lines after Captain Tartar wishing Sophie a happy early birthday were improvised by Michelle Buteau. The reactions from Cole Sprouse and Lana Condor were genuine.
While escaping from prison Walt holds Ripley out into the hallway asking, "Clear?" This scene was improvised by Cole Sprouse and with perfect timing, Ripley meows in that moment as if responding to the question.