SELENE SELENE SELENE (; Selenological and Engineering Explorer), better known in Japan by its nickname , was the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft following the Hiten probe. Produced by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), the spacecraft was launched on September 14, 2007. After successfully orbiting the Moon for a year and eight months, the main orbiter was instructed to impact on the lunar surface near the crater Gill on June 10, 2009. The orbiter's nickname, Kaguya, was selected by the general public. It comes from the name of a lunar princess
Japanese Lunar Exploration Program Engineering Explorer), nicknamed Kaguya after a lunar princess in the ancient Japanese folklore "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", is the second Japanese mission to the Moon. Launched in September 2007, it was "the largest lunar mission since the Apollo program". The mission featured three separate space craft, the main orbiter (Kaguya), the small relay satellite (Okina), and the VLBI satellite (Ouna). SELENE-2, also known as Kaguya-2, formerly known as SELENE-B, is the follow-on mission to Kaguya. SELENE-2 will consist from one large lander, which will have a small-sized rover, and if possible, will also have some penetrators inherited from