Saturn has a moon named Pandora after the mythological figure. Pandora is a small inner moon of Saturn that orbits near the planet’s narrow F ring and helps influence the ring’s structure.
Voyager 1 images led to Pandora’s discovery in 1980, when the moon was identified along with several other previously unknown Saturnian satellites. Its irregular, heavily cratered appearance reflects its small size and long exposure to impacts.
Pandora is sometimes confused with Prometheus, another small moon near Saturn’s F ring. The two moons act as shepherd satellites: Prometheus orbits inside the ring, while Pandora orbits outside it. Their gravitational effects help confine and shape the ring material.
The mythological name follows a convention used for many Saturnian moons, which are named after figures associated with Greco-Roman mythology. Pandora’s astronomical identity is therefore separate from the literary phrase “Pandora’s box,” although both names ultimately refer to the same mythic character.