Selene

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! SELENE (/ˈsɛlɨniː/ Selenological and Engineering Explorer), better known in Japan by its nickname Kaguya (かぐや?) after the legendary Japanese moon princess, was the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft. Produced by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), both now part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the spacecraft was launched on September 14, 2007. After successfully orbiting the moon for a year and eight months, the main orbiter was intentionally crashed onto the lunar surface near the Gill lunar crater at 18:25 UTC on June 10, 2009.