In the film Avatar, what is Pandora?

In James Cameron’s film Avatar, Pandora is a fictional moon.

Pandora is a moon of the fictional gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri star system. The 2009 film follows humans who travel there to mine unobtanium and interact with the Na’vi, the moon’s indigenous humanoid inhabitants. Much of the story’s conflict concerns the environmental and cultural consequences of that extraction.

Pandora is often casually called a planet because it is the main world of the film, but the movie identifies it as a moon. Its Earth-like atmosphere is not breathable by humans, so visiting characters use masks or other life-support equipment.

This cinematic Pandora is unrelated to the jar in ancient Greek mythology, although both names evoke the idea of a world containing unexpected dangers and discoveries. The moon’s name also appears in later Avatar franchise stories and reference material.