The Japanese spacecraft that orbited the Moon under the nickname Kaguya was SELENE.
SELENE stands for Selenological and Engineering Explorer. Japan’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and later JAXA developed the spacecraft, which launched from Tanegashima Space Center on September 14, 2007. The public nickname Kaguya refers to the Moon princess in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, one of Japan’s best-known traditional stories.
Kaguya entered lunar orbit in October 2007 and carried a broad suite of instruments, including a terrain camera, laser altimeter, spectrometers, a lunar radar sounder, and a magnetometer. Its observations produced detailed topographic and gravity data and supported studies of the Moon’s origin, evolution, and surface environment. Two small companion satellites were named Okina and Ouna, continuing the folktale theme.
SELENE operated for about a year and eight months before its planned impact on the lunar surface on June 10, 2009. Hayabusa was a sample-return mission to an asteroid, Nozomi targeted Mars, and Hiten was an earlier Japanese lunar probe.