The title is a reference to an interstellar radio message in which NASA transmitted the song "Across the Universe" by The Beatles in the direction of the star Polaris, located 431 light years from Earth, on February 4, 2008.
To get the slightly emaciated look of someone who had essentially been in hypersleep for years, Katee Sackhoff went on a fasting diet and cut out alcohol for five months.
Katee Sackhoff deliberately waited 12 years before committing to another sci-fi series, given how closely she is associated with Battlestar Galactica (2004).