Pandora is a moon of Saturn, part of the Solar System in the universe. Saturn is a planet associated with the Sun, our star, and this space encyclopedia describes the moon’s identity and place in its planetary system.

Pandora — A natural satellite of Saturn. Its physical properties and orbital motion are shown from the available catalogue and ephemeris data.

No object-specific chemical/elemental dataset has been verified and imported for this record. This does not mean none is publicly available. Appearance may be imagined; chemistry is not.

Discovery and designation
Pandora was discovered in 1980. JPL credits Voyager Science Team. Its provisional designation is S/1980 S26. The name and discovery entry identify this particular satellite of Saturn; similarly named asteroids are separate objects.

Pandora was discovered in October 1980 by the Voyager 1 science team.

Pandora, a potato-shaped moon, is coated in a fine (dust-sized) icy material. Even the craters on Pandora are coated in debris, a stark contrast to the crisply-defined craters of other moons, such as Hyperion. Curious grooves and ridges also appear to cross the surface of the small moon.

Pandora is interesting because it tends to disrupt the F ring, while Prometheus helps to keep the primary ring in place.

Pandora is about 25.3 miles (40.7 kilometers) in mean radius. It orbits 88,000 miles (142,000 kilometers) away from Saturn, near the F ring, taking 15.1 hours to go around Saturn.

Moons of Saturn were originally named for Greco-Roman Titans and descendants of the Titans. But as many new moons were discovered scientists began selecting names from more mythologies, including Gallic, Inuit and Norse stories.

Originally called S/1980 S26, Pandora was renamed in 1985. In mythology, Pandora (pan-DOR-uh) was a work of art who was transformed into a human by the gods. Her curiosity was said to have loosed all manner of ills upon the world when she let evil creatures out of a locked box; however, she is also responsible for hope entering the world ("hope" had been the last "creature" in the box).