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SELENE
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<p>SELENE , better known in Japan by its nickname Kaguya (かぐや), was the second Japanese <a href="/facts/Moon/zKHqEMPb">lunar</a> orbiter <a href="/facts/Spacecraft/YQqQaUw0">spacecraft</a> following the <a href="/facts/Hiten_(spacecraft)/koCLav2J">Hiten</a> probe. Produced by the <a href="/facts/Institute_of_Space_and_Astronautical_Science/qYEDPVWN">Institute of Space and Astronautical Science</a> (ISAS) and the <a href="/facts/National_Space_Development_Agency/JzaLf6bE">National Space Development Agency</a> (NASDA), the spacecraft was launched on September 14, 2007. After orbiting the Moon for a year and eight months, the main orbiter was instructed to impact on the lunar surface near the crater <a href="/facts/Gill_(lunar_crater)/vHDnygmx">Gill</a> on June 10, 2009. </p>