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The moon of Endor

In the Star Wars fictional universe, the forest moon of Endor, also known as the sanctuary moon, is a moon that is home to the Ewoks and above which the second Death Star was constructed in Return of the Jedi. It was filmed in Muir Woods near San Francisco California.

Endor's moon is also the location of the Ewok TV movies Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, as well as the adventures of the animated series Star Wars: Ewoks (and the Marvel Comics adaptation of the animated series). The moon is also home to deadly giant Goraxes, tall and timid Yuzzums, evil yet dim-witted Duloks, rodent-like Teeks, vicious condor dragons and a settlement of off-planet reptilian marauders.

Endor itself is not the moon, but instead the planet that the moon orbits (or orbited). Endor is never explicitly shown in the film, which the novelization explains by asserting that it was destroyed some time earlier, and that the moon now orbits its star (or two stars, as seen in the Ewoks cartoon) in a planetary orbit of its own.

The areas of the moon of Endor depicted in animation, live action and in print show or describe Endor as covered with thick forests of massive, ancient trees, with at least one desert region.

The moon and its inhabitants play a pivotal role in the Galactic Civil War in Return of the Jedi: the Rebel Alliance's destruction of the second Death Star occurs in the moon's orbit, and is facilitated by events on the moon's surface. The Second Death Star's shield generator is located on the moon's surface. Rebels led by Han Solo use stolen codes and an Imperial shuttle to land on the surface intent on destroying the generator. The Rebels inadvertently form an alliance with the Ewok inhabitants, who believe C-3PO is "some sort of god." The Ewoks provide guidance and support the Rebels attack on the Imperial military presence. Before assaulting the shield generator, Luke Skywalker surrenders himself to Darth Vader, hoping that by turning himself in, Vader will be distracted from his pursuit of the other Rebels, and that by doing so he would give his father a chance at redemption and defection. Vader takes Skywalker to the Death Star; the confrontation between Skywalker, Vader, and Emperor Palpatine eventually leads to Vader killing Palpatine before dying himself.

Once the Rebel Alliance takes down the Death Star's shield, the space station is open to attack; Rebel starfighters, led by Lando Calrissian in the Millennium Falcon, annihilate it.

In one of the Star Wars Tales comics,^[1] an Imperial veteran of Endor makes a reference to the theory that the moon was devastated by the impact of falling debris. Another character dismisses it as a myth, saying that most of the Death Star's mass was obliterated in the explosion, and that the Rebels "took care of the rest." Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy describes how the Rebels managed to use shields and tractor beams to protect their strike team on the moon of Endor.

• Forest moon of Endor on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
• Endor at star wars databank.
• Endor 'Holocaust' at Star Wars Technical Commentaries.