Originally scheduled to replace Resurs-O1 in late 1992, Resurs-O2 represented an evolutionary improvement of the Resurs-O1 system which added both a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and a microwave radiometer capability. Resurs-O2 not only was heavier (2,400 kg with a payload of 900 kg) but also was to be placed in a higher, 830-km orbit to increase its coverage potential. Following the financial crunch after the fall of the Soviet Union, it was never launched.

A Resurs-O2 variant specifically designed for Arctic surveys was also under consideration. The Resurs-O2 payload would be able to draw up to 800 W daily with a peak power of 2 kW. The data transmission system would operate at 8.2 GHz to the main receiving and data processing centre at Moscow and the regional centers at Novosibirsk, Tashkent, and Khabarovsk as well as with smaller, local stations. On-board data storage capacity would also be increased markedly. Resurs-O2 instruments would include:

• The MSU-E2, which employed an electro-optical CCD scanner for high resolution and could be used in pairs to provide a continuous 80-km wide swath. Each unit covered 3 spectral bands between 0.5 to 0.9 micrometers, with a ground swath of 45 km (up to 350 km off-nadir), and a ground resolution of 20 m.
• The mechanical MSU-SK2 scanner, which weighed 60 kg and combined a lower resolution capability with a much wider swath. It covered 5 spectral bands between 0.5 and 12.6 micrometers, with a ground swath of 600 km and a ground resolution of 170 m in the four lower bands and 600 m in the 10.4-12.6 micrometer band.
• The RLS-8- Synthetic Aperture Radar, which would have operated at a wavelength of 23 cm, had a ground swath of 100 km, and a ground resolution of 200 x 200 m using on-board processing, or 50 x 200 m using ground processing.
• The Delta-2P Multi-channel Microwave Radiometer, which would have covered 4 spectral bands with a ground swath of 1200 km. Ground resolution was 17 km in the 0.8 cm band, 30 km in the 1.35 cm band, 45 km in the 2.2 cm band, and 90 km in the 4.5 cm band.

Typical orbit: 830 km circular orbit. Mass: 2,400 kg (5,200 lb).