Chandrayaan2, India's second mission to moon, is being targeted for launch during 2013. Chandrayaan2 will have an orbiter (satellite), a lander and a rover. Chandrayaan-2 is planned to be launched onboard Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. While the lander will be provided by Russia, the orbiter and the rover are being built by ISRO.

The payloads to be flown onboard Chandrayaan2 (orbiter and rover) have been finalised by a National committee of experts drawn from ISRO centres, academic institutions and R & D laboratories and Chaired by Prof U R Rao, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Space Sciences (ADCOS) and former Chairman of ISRO.

The committee, after detailed deliberations and considering the mission requirements, weight and power available for scientific payloads, has recommended five payloads to be flown on the orbiter of which three are new and two are improved versions of the payloads flown earlier on Chandrayaan1 orbiter. The committee has also recommended two scientific payloads on the rover of Chandrayaan 2. Inclusion of additional payloads, if possible within the mission constraints, will be considered at a later date following a detailed review.

The five recommended payloads of Chandrayaan-2 orbiter are as follows:

1. Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) from ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bangalore and Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad for mapping the major elements present on the lunar surface.
2. L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) from Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad for probing the first few tens of meters of the lunar surface for the presence of different constituents including water ice. SAR is expected to provide further evidence confirming the presence of water ice below the shadowed regions of the moon.
3. Imaging IR Spectrometer (IIRS) from SAC, Ahmedabad for the mapping of lunar surface over a wide wavelength range for the study of minerals, water molecules and hydroxyl present.
4. Neutral Mass Spectrometer (ChACE2) from Space Physics Laboratory (SPL), Thiruvananthapuram to carry out a detailed study of the lunar exosphere.
5. Terrain Mapping Camera2 (TMC2) from SAC, Ahmedabad for preparing a three-dimensional map essential for studying the lunar mineralogy and geology.

The two scientific payloads on Chandrayaan-2 rover are:

1. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) from Laboratory for Electro Optic Systems (LEOS), Bangalore
2. Alpha Particle Induced X ray Spectroscope (APIXS) from PRL, Ahmedabad.

Both the instruments are expected to carry out elemental analysis of the lunar surface near the landing site.

Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft weighs about 2,650 kg at lift-off of which the orbiter weight is about 1,400 kg and lander weight is about 1,250 kg. Development of the subsystems of the orbiter and the rover is in progress at ISRO centres in Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad.