Mars Orbiter Mission 2  Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (MOM 2), also called Mangalyaan-2 ("Mars-craft", from "mangal", "Mars" and यान "yān", "craft, vehicle"), is India's second interplanetary mission planned for launch to Mars by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). As per some reports emerged, the mission was to be an orbiter to Mars proposed for 2024. However, in a recorded interview in October 2019, VSSC director has indicated possibility of inclusion of a lander and rover. The orbiter will use aerobraking to lower its initial apoapsis and enter into an orbit more suitable for observations. Following the successful insertion of the Mars Orbiter Mission (also called "Mangalyaan") into Martian orbit, ISRO announced its intent to launch a second mission to Mars at the Engineers Conclave conference held in Bengaluru on 28 October 2014. The proposed launch vehicle for this campaign is the GSLV Mk III, which flew for the first time on 5 June 2017. In January 2016, India and France signed a letter of intent for ISRO and CNES to jointly build MOM 2 by 2020, but by April 2018, France was not yet involved in the mission. The Indian government funded MOM 2 in its 2017 budget proposal, and ISRO is considering whether the best path is to conduct an orbiter/lander/rover mission or to opt for only an orbiter with more sophisticated instruments than those flown on MOM. In a podcast recording VSSC director Dr. S. Somanath in October 2019, it was reported the architecture for mission is yet to be finalised and may also have a lander and rover. There has been no timeline announced however. An Announcement of Opportunity was released requesting submissions for scientific instruments for an orbiter only, with a deadline set for 20 September 2016. The total science payload mass is estimated at   One of the science payloads under development is an ionosphere plasma instrument named ARIS. It is being developed by Space Satellite Systems and Payloads Centre (SSPACE), which is part of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). The engineering model and high vacuum test have been completed.