The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced the payloads to be carried by India’s second mission to the moon named, Chandrayaan-2 on Monday.

Chandrayaan-2 will include a total of seven payloads including five on five payloads on the orbiter that goes around the moon and two scientific payloads on the rover which will land on the surface of the moon. The payloads are recommended by a National Committee of Experts.

India maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 carried a total of eleven payloads out of which six from abroad. The mission launched in 2008 and came to a sudden end but not after making some significant discoveries. The orbiter and rover will be built by ISRO and the lander would be developed in Russia. The spacecraft will weigh 2,650 kg at lift-off. The orbiter will weigh 1,400 kg and lander about 1,250 kg.

The five recommended payloads include Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) for mapping major elements present on the lunar surface, L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Imaging IR Spectrometer (IIRS), Neutral Mass Spectrometer (ChACE-2) and Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2).

The other two scientific payloads include Laser induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) and Alpha Particle Induced X-ray Spectroscope (APIXS), both for elemental analysis of the lunar surface.

After evaluating mission objectives along with weight and power available for payloads, the national committee has suggested five payloads including three new and two improved versions of payloads from the earlier mission.

The committee was chaired by Prof U R Rao, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Space Sciences (ADCOS) and former Chairman of ISRO included members from ISRO centres, academic institutions and R and D laboratories. It has also recommended two other scientific payloads.

ISRO said in a statement, "Inclusion of additional payloads, if possible within the mission constraints, will be considered at a later date following a detailed review", the space agency said in a statement.”