In Saturn’s moon system, the moon discovered in 1980 and later named Pandora is Pandora.
Pandora is a small inner moon of Saturn. It was discovered in photographs taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, and the discovery was announced in 1980. The moon was later named Pandora after the figure from Greek mythology, continuing the practice of giving many Saturnian moons names drawn from mythological traditions.
Pandora is notable for its relationship with Saturn’s narrow F ring. It acts as one of the ring’s shepherd moons, working with the nearby moon Prometheus to influence the ring’s structure through gravity. Its irregular, heavily cratered surface also reflects the small moon’s low gravity and long exposure to impacts.
This astronomical Pandora is entirely separate from the mythological character, although the name is intentional. The same name is also used for the fictional moon in Avatar, creating a frequent source of confusion between Saturn’s real moon and James Cameron’s fictional setting.