Tatooine Tatooine was a sparsely inhabited circumbinary desert planet located in the galaxy ' s Outer Rim Territories . It was the homeworld to the influential Anakin and Luke Skywalker , who would go on to shape galactic history . Part of a binary star system , the planet was oppressed by scorching suns , resulting in the world lacking the necessary surface water to sustain large populations . As a result , many residents of the planet instead drew water from the atmosphere via moisture farm s . The planet also had no vegetation . Initially inhabited by native Jawa and Tusken Raider species , it saw a population explosion following the search for valuable mining deposits on the planet ' s silicate surface . Finding the ore to have unwanted metallurgic properties , mining firms left the planet en masse , leaving behind valuable equipment , most notably large sandcrawler s , which were later used by the Jawa population . The Hutt Clan also maintained a presence on Tatooine , with Jabba the Hutt owning a palace in the desert at least by the time of the Clone Wars until his death shortly before the Battle of Endor . Largely ignored by the galaxy at large , Tatooine gained the notice of the Empire during the Galactic Civil War when an escape pod carrying two droids in possession of top - secret information launched from the starship " Tantive IV " and landed on the sandy Outer Rim world . Description . Tatooine was a planet located in the Outer Rim , a region of the galaxy far removed from its core . It had three moons , Ghomrassen , Guermessa and Chenini . Due to Tatooine orbiting its two suns , Tatoo I and Tatoo II , the planet was oppressed by a scorching climate . The whole planet was covered in harsh desert s , and only a small part of its northern hemisphere could sustain intelligent life . The landscape was covered with sand dunes , mountains , and canyons , which made traversing the planet very difficult . Due to the absence of surface water , those who lived on Tatooine had to draw moisture through the dry air . Inhabiting the planet were many native species , the largest of which were the carnivorous krayt dragon s . The common krayt dragon , while more plentiful , was shadowed by the greater krayt dragon , which submerged itself under the shifting sands and used its powerful limbs to swim through the dunes . In addition , the common bantha and eopie species also found a home on the world , along with dewback s , ronto s , womp rat s , massiff s and scurrier s . History . Early History . Homeworld to the native Jawa and Tusken Raider species — and presumably with vast oceans of surface water — Tatooine was eventually colonized by early settlers after explorers mistook the planet for a third sun owing to its highly reflective silicate surface . As a result of sporadic and unsuccessful colonization ventures , the planet became a haven for smugglers and criminal activity , while scattered , isolated settlements of hard - working inhabitants attempted to earn a living in the wastes . A long - ago mining boom saw the widespread use of sandcrawler s on the desert plains in an effort to mine valuable minerals . However , after it was discovered that most valuable minerals could be found on the surface , along with most minerals having unwanted metallurgic properties , the sandcrawlers were abandoned and eventually picked up by the native Jawas for use as shelter and mobile bases , from which they collected scrap from thousands of years of crashed spacecraft and failed mining projects . Offworlders erected various cities in the desert , and colonists who decided to stay on the planet built moisture farms . The B ' omarr Order on Tatooine kept their disembodied brains floating in jars which hung below their spider - like droid bodies , and built a monastery on the planet which would eventually come under the ownership of Jabba Desilijic Tiure as his palace . Most wealth eventually found its way into the city of Mos Espa , with most of it procured from gambling and off - world trade , especially through the lucrative black market . The influx of commercial ventures fueled Mos Espa ' s growth , eventually securing its regional importance as a hub of economic and financial activity . With high tariffs imposed by the Hutt ' s , some believed themselves able to escape paying them by doing business in the planet ' s de facto capital , however often found themselves scammed and broke if not through gambling , through simple bad luck . The Clone Wars . In the last decades of the Galactic Republic , Tatooine was home to a Human slave named Shmi Skywalker and her son , the young Anakin owing to lax enforcement of Republic anti - slavery laws . Nine years later , Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo escaped the capture of her homeworld by the Trade Federation , and she took refuge on Tatooine with her companions and protectors , including the Jedi Master Qui - Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi - Wan Kenobi . The Skywalkers befriended Amidala ' s party , and the young slave ended up participating in a podrace to help his new friends obtain a new T - 14 hyperdrive generator for their damaged starship . After discovering that Anakin Skywalker would make an exceptional recruit for the Jedi Order , Master Qui - Gon Jinn managed to obtain his freedom from the junk dealer Watto in the city of Mos Espa , and the Queen ' s party left Tatooine with the boy . After participating in numerous adventures , including the Invasion of Naboo , the former Tatooinian slave joined the Jedi Order under Kenobi ' s tutelage . Ten years later , Tatooine hosted another major event in the saga of the Skywalker family . Anakin Skywalker , now a gifted but unruly Jedi student , sensed that his mother , who had stayed on Tatooine and gotten married , was in terrible pain . Skywalker returned to the desert world in the company of Amidala , who was now a senator of the Republic and the young Jedi ' s secret lover . It transpired that Shmi Skywalker had been captured by Tusken Raider s and was detained in one of their camps . When Skywalker finally discovered his mother ' s location , he arrived too late , and she died in his arms from the consequences of the Tuskens ' mistreatments . Enraged , the young Jedi slaughtered the entire Tusken tribe . That act of brutality , which took place on Tatooine , resulted in the native Tusken Raiders believing Anakin to be a vengeful demon spirit , and later had serious consequences as the first step towards Anakin Skywalker ' s fall from grace . Shortly after the incident , the Clone Wars broke out , and the tortured Tatooinian Jedi became a major player of the pan - galactic conflict . During the Clone Wars , a Jedi - backed mission to Jabba ' s Palace occurred , with the Jedi hoping to rescue Rotta the Hutt let from the Separatist Alliance . Later during the war , Chairman Papanoida and his son , Ion Papanoida headed to Tatooine to track down the bounty hunter Greedo , who had kidnapped members of their family . Three years after the start of the war , Skywalker fell to the dark side and joined the Sith , old adversaries of the Jedi who had long planned to take over the galaxy . The Galactic Empire , a new regime established to replace the Republic , started to hunt all Jedi . Skywalker ' s former master Obi - Wan Kenobi went into hiding on Tatooine , bringing the infant son of the fallen Jedi with him . On the desert expanses of Tatooine , Kenobi hoped that he could keep young Luke from his father ' s evil influence . Kenobi entrusted the boy to Shmi ' s stepson , Owen Lars , and his wife Beru . The long years . In the years following Emperor Palpatine ' s formation of his New Order , the Great Drought of Tatooine scorched the world ' s surface , impoverishing the many moisture farmers of a reliable source of income to procure food and other basic supplies . The situation was not helped by Jabba ' s thugs collecting " water taxes " from the many towns and isolated settlements across the planet , often resorting to threats and brute force to acquire enough water for the crime lord . With Obi - Wan Kenobi witnessing the suffering of the population , he disabled the weapons of the thugs , allowing the populace to chase them off . Later , a young Luke Skywalker attempted to confront the thugs , but was ultimately rescued by Obi - Wan after falling unconscious in a brief scuffle . With the legacy of the Jedi safe , Obi - Wan vowed never to return to town , while a week later the drought finally ended , and Jabba vowed revenge on the man who had stolen his water , to no avail . In addition , the Empire ' s rise prompted the Hutts to revise their oftentimes shady business schemes , resulting in a transfer of regional wealth and influence from Mos Espa to Mos Eisley , resulting in the slow economic decline of Mos Espa . In 2 BBY , the former Sith apprentice Maul traveled to Tatooine to hunt down his old nemesis Obi - Wan Kenobi . Unable to draw the Jedi Master out of hiding , Maul used the fragment of the Malachor Sith holocron to lure the Jedi rebel Ezra Bridger to the planet . Ezra traveled with the C1 - series astromech droid Chopper to Tatooine . The two rebels were attacked by Tusken Raiders , who damaged their RZ - 1T trainer . After being lost in the desert , Ezra and Chopper were rescued by Kenobi , who revealed Maul ' s deception . Kenobi then instructed the two rebels to return to Atollon while he defeated and killed Maul in combat . Galactic Civil War . Shortly after the Battle of Scarif in the Galactic Civil War , the droids R2 - D2 and C - 3PO landed on Tatooine ' s surface in an escape pod after their CR90 corvette the " Tantive IV " was captured by the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Devastator . " With the droids carrying the technical readouts to the battle station , a task force was sent to the planet in order to capture the two droids . Upon coming in contact with a Jawa sandcrawler , the two were abducted and later sold to Owen Lars of the Lars moisture farm , with R2 being chosen after another astromech droid , R5 - D4 broke down . Later that day , Luke Skywalker , unknowingly Anakin Skywalker ' s son came across a recorded message of Princess Leia pleading for the help of Obi - Wan Kenobi against the Galactic Empire . Intrigued , if only because R2 later ran away , forcing Luke and C - 3PO to retrieve him , the two were attacked by native Tusken Raiders . Being saved by Kenobi after he imitated the cry of a krayt dragon , Luke Skywalker learned that he was a Jedi while Kenobi offered to train him . Refusing and heading home , Skywalker came across the remains of the sandcrawler that originally sold the two droids to his family . Realizing that it was the work of Imperial forces and that they may have traced the droids back to his house , Luke rushed back only to find the moisture farm burned to the ground , with the charred remains of his aunt and uncle laying outside in the sun . Agreeing to go with Ben Kenobi to Mos Eisley , they hired the services of smuggler Han Solo and his partner , Chewbacca to transport them offworld to Alderaan . Barely escaping an intense firefight with multiple sandtrooper s , the two escaped Tatooine and several Star Destroyers into hyperspace . Sometime during the Galactic Civil War , Tusken Raiders under the leadership of the Jundland General attacked local settlements . He and his followers were ultimately defeated by a gang of mercenaries located on - world . Shortly after the Battle of Yavin , a shuttle with emissaries in the employ of Jabba the Hutt , meant to negotiate a deal to provide support to the Empire at Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1 , was intercepted by the Alliance to Restore the Republic , and a strike team consisting of Han Solo , Luke Skywalker , and Leia Organa proceeded to the factory , infiltrating and destroying it . The negotiations having failed , Darth Vader returned to Tatooine to negotiate the deal with Jabba in person . After the negotiations were complete , Vader remained on Tatooine shortly to wipe out a Tusken Raider tribe and hire the bounty hunter s Boba Fett and Black Krrsantan to ascertain the identity of the pilot who destroyed the First Death Star . Fett tracked down and dueled Skywalker , who had returned to the late Ben Kenobi ' s dwelling for education , learning his name and reporting to Vader . Four years later , the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett delivered Han Solo , now frozen in carbonite , to the crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure , where he would serve as a wall decoration . Attempting to rescue Solo , the droids R2 - D2 and C - 3PO infiltrated Jabba ' s Palace disguised as servants after Luke Skywalker " gifted " them to the crime lord . Arriving at the palace not long after , Luke Skywalker attempted to bargain with Jabba for his friend ' s life , only to be refused and dropped into a rancor pit . After a struggle , Luke managed to kill the rancor , angering Jabba and sentencing him and Han Solo ( who was freed by Leia Organa in the guise of a bounty hunter who had captured his friend , Chewbacca ) to death in the Great Pit of Carkoon , while Leia became one of Jabba ' s many entertainers . Later , as they were about to be executed , R2 - D2 fired Luke ' s lightsaber at him from Jabba ' s sail barge , allowing Luke , Han Solo and Lando Calrissian , who had been disguised as a guard , to make their escape . After an intense shootout , Leia strangled Jabba to death with the chain used to keep her hostage , and Boba Fett was knocked into the sarlacc . Luke Skywalker , Han Solo , Leia Organa , Chewbacca , Lando Calrissian and the two droids escaped the planet once more . New days for Tatooine . After the Battle of Endor , a Jawa sandcrawler scavenged the wreckage from Jabba ' s sail barge , including a set of Mandalorian armor . Also during this time , numerous crime syndicates attempted to build legitimacy as mining companies , with one such company , the Red Key Raiders , afraid that the New Republic would eventually stamp out their operations on the planet . These companies tried to take advantage of the power vacuum caused by the death of Jabba . The enigmatic lawman Cobb Vanth obtained Boba Fett ' s armor from a Jawa sandcrawler and defeated the Red Key gangster Adwin Charu . By 5 ABY , Cobb Vanth had become the mayor and Sheriff of Freetown and dedicated his life to protecting the town from the Red Key Raiders . He also enlisted Jabba ' s former Beastmaster Malakili in helping to tame two unruly ronto s and to raise the Hutt let named Borgo . With Malakili ' s help , Cobb struck a deal with the local Tusken Raiders to protect the town in exchange for water and receiving a pearl from the stomach of a krayt dragon . This alliance proved important in repelling an attack by the Red Key syndicate led by Lorgan Movellan . Inhabitants . Tatooine had only a few port cities , including Mos Espa and Mos Eisley . Beside those cities , which attracted many criminals , most settlers of Tatooine operated moisture farm s in the expanse of the desert . Tusken Raiders often attacked isolated settlements on the fringes of their territory such as Anchorhead , and often took potshots at podracers during the Boonta Eve Classic , celebrated once every year as part of the Boonta Eve holiday celebrating the famed Hutt Boonta Hestilic Shad ' ruu and his ascension to godhood . The Max Rebo Band ' s song " Lapti Nek " ranked number two in the top five of Tatooine ' s greatest hits , beaten by Figrin D ' an and the Modal Nodes ' number - one single " Mad About Me . " The Modal Nodes followed up their success with the number - three hit " The Sequential Passage of Chronological Intervals " and ranked - five hit " Goodnight , But Not Goodbye ( Mad About Me Remix ) . " The Max Rebo Band was left with only two of Tatooine ' s top five songs , with their number - four hit " ( That Joyous Night ) I Ate My Mate . " Lawful inhabitants on the planet often utilized moisture vaporator s owing to their energy efficiency , resulting in their status as one of the most crucial pieces of equipment for survival . While single vaporators often cost 500 credit s each , some individuals bought and owned multiple units , creating moisture farms . Often utilizing the extra water for small hydroponic gardens , few gardens yielded enough to make substantial profits . In addition , vaporators required frequent maintenance and security systems to deter attacks from Tusken Raider s , who believed all water was sacred and belonged to them . The Raiders , native to the planet , were a nomadic tribal society with strict social and moral codes , along with defined territorial boundaries . Frequent colonial trespasses on their sovereign territory , along with the collusion between old values and galactic modernization , often forced the Tuskens to attack colonists whom they both vehemently feared and despised . Jawa s were also a native species to Tatooine , and as such deeply entrenched into a nomadic lifestyle . Unlike the Tuskens , whom they attempted to avoid , Jawas frequently sold collected scrap metal and droids to the scattered settlers on the planet , earning a reputation as merchants and vagabonds . Myth and folklore also played an important part in Jawa society , with the Jawa ' s belief that the great Dune Sea was once a true ocean . Later research into ancient fossil - bearing rock and eroded canyons seemed to support this notion . Nonetheless , most of Tatooine ' s inhabitants refused to believe the story , finding it far - fetched and ludicrous . Slavery , while banned through Republic laws , was readily and blatantly practiced under the twin suns . An entire section of Mos Espa was purposed as a Slave Quarter . On Tatooine , at least , the institution of slavery was seen as a socioeconomic symbol of wealth and prestige , resulting in highly protective owners who reluctantly parted with their possessions . Used as capital in business transactions , nearly all slavery operations were overseen by the Hutt gangsters , who regarded slavery as a useful institution . Behind the scenes . The planet is not actually named in ; Lucas had called it Utapau in all but , then renamed it in the fourth after the movie ' s desert location , Tataouine ( French spelling ) in Tunisia . ( See also Tunisia for other Tunisian - inspired names . ) Many Legends works released around the same time used the planet ' s name ; it was first said onscreen in a line near the end of " " . Filming of Tatooine scenes took place around , , , , , the Chott el Jerid , and in , in , and in . The constellation contains a planet that , like Tatooine , orbits two stars , which scientists once believed to be physically impossible .