The Earth Photosynthesis Imaging Constellation: Measuring Photosynthesis with a CubeSat Platform

In response to NASA's Earth Venture Instrument-2 call, we proposed the Earth Photosynthesis Imaging Constellation (EPIC) mission. With EPIC, we will, for the first time, be able to provide the scientific community with global, spatially, and temporally explicit estimates of Photosynthesis, also known as Gross Primary Production (GPP) directly from satellite observations. Understanding the significance of terrestrial GPP for the global carbon, water, and energy balance, as well as its spatiotemporal dynamics is one of the key goals of Earth system science. Our proposed method is based on first principles of plant physiology and radiative transfer theory and has been demonstrated by the science team members in theoretical and experimental research. We expect EPIC to fundamentally change and improve our understanding of global photosynthesis and provide entirely new avenues for modeling and predicting Earth system behavior globally.