The HAKUTO-R lunar lander by Japanese startup ispace is on its way to Earth's natural satellite after successfully completing its second major deep-space maneuver.HAKUTO-R, which launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Dec. 11, 2022, has already traveled over 770,000 miles (1,24 million kilometers) from Earth, according to a company statement (opens in new tab).The spacecraft, which could be the first private mission to successfully soft-land on the moon, has completed two "orbital control maneuvers" to date and also sent some awe-inspiring images back to Earth.The second maneuver took place on Monday (Jan. 2) shortly after midnight Japanese time (10 p.m on Jan. 1 EST) and lasted longer than the first orbital correction maneuver, which was performed on Dec. 15.Related: China's Yutu 2 rover still rolling after nearly 4 years on moon's far sideThe mission, which will reach its farthest distance from Earth (860,000 miles, or 1.4 million km) on Jan. 20, will then perform a third thruster firing to help fine-tune its trajectory in order to enter orbit around the moon."