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Advances in Space Research 48 (2011) 689696 www.elsevier.com/locate/asr

Analog environments for a Europa lander mission

Ralph D. Lorenz a,*, Damhnait Gleeson b, Olga Prieto-Ballesteros c, Felipe Gomez c, Kevin Hand d, Sergey Bulat e
a

JHU Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USA b Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA c Centro de Astrobiologia (INTA-CSIC), Torrejon de Ardoz, 28850, Madrid, Spain d Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA e Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188300, St. Petersburg-Gatchina, Russia

Received 25 January 2010; received in revised form 1 May 2010; accepted 5 May 2010 Available online 11 May 2010

Abstract This paper reviews the utility of analog environments in preparations for a Europa lander mission. Such analogs are useful in the demonstration and rehearsal of engineering functions such as sample acquisition from an icy surface, as well as in the exercise of the scientic protocols needed to identify organic, inorganic and possible biological impurities in ice. Particular attention is drawn to Antarctic and Arctic analog sites where progress in these latter areas has been signicant in recent years. 2010 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Europa; Ice; Astrobiology; Analog eld studies; Antarctica

1. Introduction The scientic success of a Europa lander mission will depend on the safe delivery of instrumentation and its support equipment to the surface of Europa, followed by the operation of that instrumentation in, and its interaction with, the Europa environment. That environment is not completely known, and while some major features can be anticipated and reproduced, e.g. in large space simulation chambers, experience shows that much additional insight can be gained from real-world analog environments. This is particularly the case for the rehearsal of scientic investigations which by denition may encounter unanticipated eects. The utility of analog environments for space exploration in general (notably human exploration) is well-documented: for example, some of the logistical and environmental analogies that make Antarctica a useful

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 443 778 2903; fax: +1 443 778 8939. E-mail address: Ralph.lorenz@jhuapl.edu (R.D. Lorenz).

analog for space exploration in the broader sense are discussed by Ardanuy et al. (2005). A Europa lander will likely perform a variety of scientic investigations (see the companion paper by Korablev et al. (2011); see also Balint, 2004), some familiar (such as survey by panoramic cameras and spectrometers and the acquisition of surface materials for analysis on-board), some not. These more novel investigations might include geophysical instrumentation such as seismometers, as well as sample analysis with a particular emphasis on astrobiology. The autonomous emplacement of geophysical instrumentation on an ice surface is a challenge that would benet from eld rehearsal. More important, perhaps, are the astrobiological sample analysis techniques and contamination avoidance protocols (which may have many similarities with those which may be necessary at Mars) wherein the avoidance of false positive results is crucial. While (as we discuss later) our moon, or some of the small bodies of the solar system, may be more useful engineering analog environments, scientically the exploration of Mars has some particular lessons. Specically, the

0273-1177/$36.00 2010 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2010.05.006

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astrobiological measurements of the Viking landers in 1976 are now reasonably understood, but at the time were confusing owing to the unexpected oxidant activity in the soil (mimicking metabolism) whereas mass spectrometry indicated that organic compounds were not detectably present. Since astrobiology is a key aspect of Europas interest as a scientic target, it is important that the scientic measurements to look e.g. for biomarkers be understood well enough for an unambiguous result to be obtained. A second lesson comes from the recent Phoenix lander, where it was found that soil samples were dicult to ingest into an instrument because they were unexpectedly cloddy or sticky, this mission landing at high northern latitudes where soil moisture was evidently higher than at other regions of the planet that have been investigated in situ. Exposure of instrumentation and the scientists directing it to as wide a variety of possible environments as possible can help to avoid unintended eects like this. We would contend that analog environment testing fulls another important function that of providing a visual stimulus for the wider community. Many space endeavours are rather abstract, yet the image of a vehicle in even an imperfect analog environment is a powerful motivator (witness, e.g. the sandboxes in which Mars rover operations are rehearsed by operators, and are replicated in miniature worldwide in schools and robotics clubs). Similarly, accounts with photographs of scientic exploration (and human investigators) e.g. in polar regions make planetary science a much more tangible and appealing enterprise. The outreach, education and public relations utility of these aspects should not be underestimated. In this paper, we review several areas of Europa terrestrial analog research. First, we consider astrobiological analog studies in general. We rst discuss the Antarctic subglacial Lake Vostok, widely recognized as probably the most important terrestrial analog for Europa studies and in particular the astrobiological investigation of the ice core above the Lake. We also mention astrobiological rez in Spain, whose waters may studies of saline Lake T have some chemical similarities with the Europan subsurface ocean. We then discuss a suite of research in springs at Borup Fiord Pass in the Canadian High Arctic where sulfur minerals appear in a glacial context, providing analogs for remote sensing at Europa as well as a site for microbial sulfur cycling in a plausibly Europan-like environment. Other studies in Arctic and mountain glacial environments are also described. Finally, we note the scientic and engineering experience relevant for Europa that may be derived from forthcoming missions to other solar system targets. 2. Analog research Analog environments on Earth must be considered in the context of how they can inform our search for life on other worlds, not just in how they map onto the conditions we think may exist on such worlds. The deep sea

hydrothermal vents provide a useful example of this distinction. The remarkable ecosystems of the hydrothermal vents provide a terrestrial proof-of-concept that life can thrive in the dark depths of the ocean utilizing chemosynthesis as the base of the food chain. The broad extrapolation can then be made that were geologically active seaoors to exist in the oceans of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, then it might be possible for life to exist at analogous site on those worlds. But how does that comparison inform our search for such ecosystems? Certainly it is useful to consider the chemistry of such sites and how that might inuence the bulk ocean chemistry, but ultimately the next few decades of our search for life on icy worlds will be largely constrained to surface and near-subsurface regions. Submersibles that can actively explore the depths of these alien oceans are a long way o. The icy surfaces of these moons will serve as our window to the interior and our eorts to search for biosignatures should reect this constraint. Analog environments on Earth that can inform our search for life on the icy surfaces of these worlds improve our ability to detect biosignatures and assist in mission and instrument design. While hydrothermal vent ecosystems may map onto the conditions thought to exist in the depths of worlds like Europa, the vent ecosystems on Earth have essentially no expression or detectable signature on the surface of our ocean (Winn et al., 1986; Hand, 2009). Without a surface expression both for the case of Earth and Europan systems such ecosystems are not detectable from orbit or with a lander investigating the near-subsurface. In the sections that follow we explore several terrestrial analogs that provide some context for search capabilities that might be utilized either remotely or in situ on future missions. 2.1. Lake Vostok Lake Vostok (Seigert et al., 2001) is a 240 50 km Lake, some 4 km beneath the surface of the East Antarctic ice sheet. Inasmuch as the Europan ocean likely lies beneath 15 km of ice (a recent summary of ice thickness estimates for Europa is that by Billings and Kattenhorn (2005) it should be noted that many of the thinner estimates relate to that thickness of ice which is brittle or elastic on some timescale, rather than the total thickness. In particular, thermal models and impact cratering morphologies tend to suggest thicknesses in excess of several km), Vostok is a powerful analog indeed, the radio echosounding (i.e. ice-penetrating radar) means by which the Lake was discovered is expected to be a valuable technique at Europa. The hydrostatic pressure at the base of the ice may be rather similar on both worlds, given Europas lower gravity. However, whereas Europas ocean is some 100 km thick, Vostok is only about 1.6 km at most. The ice sheet is likely 14 million or more years old, and thus Lake Vostok may have existed as an at least partly-isolated system

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for that time, although both the Lake waters themselves, and the ice presently lying above the Lake, are likely to be much younger. It is estimated that the residence time of water in the Lake is of the order of 80,000 years, while the ice above the Lake may have been precipitated from the atmosphere about 2 Myr ago at most. These considerations highlight that the Lake is a dynamic system, not merely a stagnant pool of water at the base of a stagnant mass of ice. The geothermal heat ow at the base of the Lake is estimated at 42 mW/m2, perhaps not too dierent from values expected for Europa. Thermal convection may drive some circulation both on Vostok and on Europa, although on Europa the gravitational tides are likely to play a much more signicant role. In Vostok, as at other subglacial Lakes in hydrostatic equilibrium, the surface gradient that drives the ow of ice is associated with a steeper, opposite gradient in the ice:water interface, such that the northern end of the Lake is at a depth of 4200 m, while the poleward end is at 3750 km. An ice core (see Fig. 1) was obtained from the Vostok station, reaching down to 3667 m depth, stopping about 80 m above the Lake surface. While most of the column became solid as snow in the atmosphere, accumulating over the last 4 ice age cycles, the lowest 130 m of the core (and thus the lowest 210 m of the ice column) is ice frozen from the Lake. This basal ice therefore represents a frozen sample of Lake Vostok. An additional complication in the ice/water chemistry is the presence of clathrates in the ice. In particular, oxygenbearing gas clathrates may be involved in the introduction of oxygen into the Lake waters. Such high oxygen tension may be important in forbidding known permitting metabolic processes while permitting novel ones (similarly, the delivery of radiolytic oxidants from the surface of Europa to the Europan ocean may be vital in providing chemical disequilibrium to permit metabolism).

The question of possible biota in Lake Vostok is a challenging one. Priscu et al. (1999) identied a variety of microbes at concentrations of several to tens of thousands of cells per ml in the basal ice. They also detected dissolved organic carbon at levels (0.5 mg/l) that could support heterotrophic organisms. Bulat et al. (2004) detected the DNA signature of only thermophilic bacteria in the ice. In a separate study, Bulat et al. (2009) found instead that the ice is essentially germ-free. It is possible that these discrepant results may be due to extreme heterogeneity in the biotic content of the ice samples. In any case, to be sure of the results, it is clear that extreme attention must be paid to stringent ice and tool decontamination procedures to meet chemistry and trace DNA analysis standards, and to the certication of various environments in contact with ice samples for biological content (including drill uids, etc.) The application of multiple avenues of investigation is an additional means to ensuring the robustness of life detection. For example, in addition to detecting the presence of biological material (via detection of DNA via Polymerase Chain Reaction or similar methods) it would be desirable to verify the presence of an organism via some metabolic inuence on the environment (e.g. the local depletion of some nutrient around the organism). For terrestrial samples, it would be desirable to replicate analyses at an independent laboratory: for Europa this will of course not be practical. rez Lake and other hypersaline environments 2.2. T While Vostok ice represents an end-member Europa analog of rather pure water composition, non-ice component of Europa denes the other end-member, that of sulfates. These non-ice materials, concentrated along geological features on the surface of Europa, can be

Fig. 1. A sample of Lake Vostok ice from nearly 4 km deep. The extreme clarity of the ice may be noted, although clasts of rock are present. Vostok ice may be a good analog of a Europan ice sample.

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distinguished from the ubiquitous background signature of ice in Galileos near infrared mapping spectrometer (NIMS) data on the basis of distorted water absorption bands (Carlson et al., 1999; McCord et al., 1998, 1999). These authors cite heavily hydrated (nH2O where n = 8 14) sulfur-bearing minerals as the closest spectral matches for these materials, with candidate minerals including hydrated magnesium or sodium sulfates, hydrated sulfuric acid, or polymerized allotropes of sulfur. Laboratory spectra at temperatures relevant to Europa have improved the t of spectral matches (Dalton, 2003; Dalton et al., 2005), and mixtures produced both experimentally (Orlando et al., 2005), and by spectral modeling (Dalton, 2007), which incorporate both hydrated sulfuric acid and sulfate salts have been proven to most closely approximate nearIR spectra. These materials may be sourced endogenously from Europas subsurface ocean (Zolotov and Shock, 2001) and delivered to the surface by convective activity such as diapiric upwelling within the ice shell (Pappalardo and Barr, 2004). This activity could produce localized zones of water-rich plumbing (Greeley et al., 2004) or partial melt (Collins et al., 2000) within the ice. An alternative hypothesis proposes that these materials may be delivered to the surface exogenously in the form of implanted sulfur ions from Ios volcanoes which subsequently become radiolyzed (Carlson et al., 1999). If internal processes extrude these materials, they may hold clues to the habitability of the subsurface ocean and have the potential to contain biosignatures (Kargel et al., 2000). Sites of recent activity are most likely to prove fruitful in this regard (Figueredo et al., 2003). Based on the comparison of its hydrogeochemistry with the geochemical features of the alteration mineralogy of rez meteoritic precursors and with Galileo NIMS data, T Lake (Spain) has been proposed as a terrestrial analog of the Europan ocean (Prieto-Ballesteros et al., 2003). Hydrogeochemical and mineralogical analyses showed that rez waters correspond to MgNaSO4Cl brines with T epsomite, hexahydrite and halite as end mineral members. rez brines have been analyzed by Fourier TransFrozen T form InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy, providing similar spectra to the Galileo spectral data. Calorimetric measurerez brines showed pathways and phase metastaments of T bility for magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride crystallization which may aid in understanding the processes involved in the formation of Europas icy crust (see e.g. Zolotov and Shock, 2001). It may be noted that Dierential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) instruments such rez brines have own as those used in the study of frozen T in space specically, the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer on the Mars Polar Lander and Phoenix missions. Prokaryotic halophiles that can grow in waters with very high salt concentrations have been reported in brines and hypersaline lagoons: some not only tolerate, but require high salt concentrations to survive (24 M, equivalent to 1223% NaCl). Several examples of these organisms can

develop up to saturation (5.5 M salt, up to 3237%). In rez Lake two dierent microbial domains have been T found: a photosynthetically sustained community represented by planktonic/benthonic forms and microbial mat communities, and a subsurcial anaerobic realm in which chemolithotrophy predominates. As discussed in PrietoBallesteros et al. (2003), light microscopy with uorescent stains, and uorescent in situ hybridization to identify specic DNA sequences have been used for microbiological analysis of this habitat. Photosynthetic prokaryotes and algae belonging to the Chlorophyta (see Fig. 2) division were located on the water column. This photosynthetic community of primary producers is also exploited by some heterotrophic protists. Despite the obvious and major differences in physical conditions between Europas surface rez Lake, the chemistry of the dissolved salts are a and T useful analog. Furthermore, the experience in microbial detection via uorescent techniques suggests that similar techniques might be applied at Europa. 2.3. Borup Fiord Pass supraglacial deposits The supraglacial spring system of Borup Fiord Pass on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic represents the rst opportunity to investigate sulfur minerals in association with ice in a terrestrial context, which as discussed above represents the best chemical analog to the Europan surface. Alkaline spring waters high in sulde and sulfate access the surface of the ice during the melt season each year, depositing elemental sulfur, gypsum and calcite across the glacier and exsolving H2S (Grasby et al., 2003). Anhydrite evaporites of the Otto Fiord Formation are the only abundant source of sulfur in the area and o34S measurements indicate that sulfate-reducing bacteria are playing a role in the reduction of the anhydrite to sulde (Grasby et al., 2003). Sulde in spring waters is subsequently becoming incompletely reoxidized to sulfur when spring waters come in contact with atmospheric oxygen

rez Lake, photoFig. 2. Phylamentous algae (Zynemopsis gen.) from T synthetizers growing in high salt concentration liquid.

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and cultivation experiments have shown that microbial communities present in the deposits can mediate this reaction (Gleeson et al., submitted for publication). Microbial rates of sulde oxidation typically outpace abiotic rates by several orders of magnitude (Millero, 1986; Eary and Schramke, 1990; Kuhl and Jorgensen, 1992). Thus, the geochemical (and consequent spectral) signatures of materials precipitated at the surface plausibly provide evidence of the ecosystem operating in and on the glacial ice. Due to limited spectral libraries of candidate materials and low spectral resolution of NIMS data (530 km), the exact nature of conditions on the surface of Europa remains uncertain. Borup Fiord Pass (see Fig. 3) provides an opportunity to investigate in a terrestrial environment how sulfur-on-ice mineralogy on the ground is reected in orbital data. Spectral features diagnostic of composition can be evaluated in a real-world setting by comparisons between satellite coverage and eld data, and potential interferences between candidate materials identied. Observations of the precipitation of mixtures in the eld can also provide new insights into mineral partitioning eects, which can physically obscure certain components. As any future investigation of Europa will have exploratory elements, autonomous classication and change detection techniques that minimize memory and processing requirements and allow rapid response to unanticipated events would be useful. The sulfur signature of the spring deposits of Borup Fiord is extensive enough to be detected and monitored from orbital satellite observations collected by the hyperspectral Hyperion instrument aboard the EO-1 satellite (Castano et al., 2008; Gleeson et al., in review), and autonomous collection of these data have been utilized to provide temporal coverage of spring activity. Landing site selection at Europa is likely to be carried out on the basis of tracking sites of recent activity on the surface on the moon and rening relevant techniques will increase data return. Sulfur metabolisms (e.g. McCollom, 1999) can proceed in the absence of O2 and metabolic biosignatures generated by these processes on Europa could become entrained in mobile ice and carried to the surface. On the other hand,

while life on Europa is likely to be oxidant-limited (e.g. Hand et al., 2007), oxidants can be formed by radiolysis in ice (Johnson and Quickenden, 1997). Microbial sulfur cycling in cold environments has been understudied to date and considerable work is required in this area to determine what types of biosignatures are generated under low temperature and nutrient limited conditions, where chemotrophic sulfur cycling is likely to be the dominant metabolism. Borup Fiord Pass is the rst environment where microbial sulfur cycling on ice has been described, and will inform future lander missions by identifying a range of potential biosignatures relevant to Europa. 2.4. Alpine (mountain glacier and snow) studies While the identication of the faint or overlapping signatures of inorganic minerals via remote spectroscopy can be challenging (as the long debate on interpretation of Galileo NIMS spectra at Europa attest), certain biogenic organic compounds are strongly photoactive. Indeed, they are tuned through eons of selection to strongly absorb, reect, and emit in very specic wavelength regions to perform specic functions such as UV shielding (carotenoids), sensing (rhodopsins) and of course photosynthesis (chlorophyll, phycocyanin etc.). Indeed, the spectral activity of such compounds is such that photosynthesis might be considered evolutions gift to spectroscopists! It may be optimistic, but it must nonetheless be considered, that if biota is present in Europa, that it may contain such photoactive compounds. The faint red blooms of the algae in the snowelds and glaciers of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California serve as useful example of life in ice on Earth that is detectable using remote spectroscopic techniques. The visible-wavelength signatures of carotenoids in the snow algae Chlamydomonas nivalis could be measured by NASAs Airborne Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (AVIRIS, Painter et al., 2001). Specically, a 5.5 km2 area was imaged which had a concentration of 13001700 cells/ml, or a biomass density of 0.033 g/m2. Such ecosystems

Fig. 3. Borup Fiord Pass minerals discolor the ice visibly in remote sensing data, and have striking and unexpected microscopic textures. This highlights the utility of analog studies at length scales spanning 9 orders of magnitude.

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provide a baseline against which we can begin to address the challenges spectroscopists will face as we attempt to identify signs of life from orbit on distant worlds. Another aspect of snowpacks especially for high-altitude equatorial sites that should be noted is that photolysis in the upper layers can drive oxidant chemistry that may have signicant parallels with radiolysis and photolysis in Europan ice. Specically, OH radicals are produced, enhancing the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere these radicals can convert organic matter into carbonyl compounds and halides into halogens. Emissions of nitrogen oxides, nitrous acid, light aldehydes, acetone, and molecular halogens have also been detected (Domine and Shepson, 2002). A related opportunity for analog studies pertains to permafrost regions such as Siberia and Alaska. In these areas methane and other organic compounds may be released into the atmosphere, particularly during the thaw season. Already it is possible for airborne and spaceborne spectroscopy to detect such emissions (and those from rice paddies and other agricultural operations, as well as from marine methane seeps). A new challenge, with application to Europa, is how in situ measurements may be able to identify the source (recent biogenic, or fossil, or abiogenic) of such emissions. 3. Planetary environments A variety of terrestrial environments (see Table 1) might be usefully used to test individual instruments or sampling

mechanisms, or perhaps even a full-scale model Europa lander. The diculties of working in remote locations with mineral samples of varying consistencies cannot be overemphasized, as has been recently illustrated by sampling diculties encountered by the Phoenix mission to the Martian Pole. Any instruments proposed for inclusion on a future lander mission should be exhaustively eld-tested under a range of relevant conditions. While Arctic/Antarctic/ Alpine environments are not subject to the very low temperatures and harsh radiation environment of Europa, they supply remote and challenging environments in their own right, with some parallels to Europas icy surface. For example, air-dropped penetrators for seismometry have been tested in Antarctica (Matsushima et al., 2003), giving important experience for the application of similar vehicles originally developed for lunar application in other ice environments like Europa. It should be noted that instrument or sampling tests might also usefully employ materials from analog sites (such as the Borup Fiord deposits in Section 2.2) but could bring them to the laboratory and ash freeze and/or irradiate them to render them more useful still as testing materials for instruments. In terms of planetary diameter and gravity, hard vacuum and variable illumination, our own Moon has some similarities with Europa, and it is not inconceivable that opportunities to evaluate sampling systems or other devices at the moon might emerge in the next decade, in time for lessons learned to be applied for a Europa Lander mission. Generally, however, the surface composition of the moon is quite dierent. An exception is the possible presence of ice

Table 1 Planetary analog environments. Environment Subaerial saline Lakes Arctic/Alpine Similarities with Europa Dissolved salts Ice (and associated sulfur mineralogy, for Borup Fiord) Dierences with Europa (Many) Atmosphere Much higher temperature Gravity higher Shallow ice Atmosphere Higher temperature Gravity higher Comments (science/technical discipline addressed) rez Lake. e.g. T Mineralogical and microbial Principally microbial, some mineralogical

Antarctica/Greenland ice sheet and subglacial Lakes Moon

Ice

e.g. Lake Vostok. Technical (drilling etc.) as well as microbial and possible mineralogical

Space environment (UV, vacuum, etc.) gravity similar

Bulk surface material is Plans for missions in the next decade silicate Larger temperature Landing systems, surface sampling in vacuum, gravity. range Volatile behavior (lunar poles) Low gravity Bulk surface material likely ice-poor Larger temperature range Plans for missions in the next decade. Surface sampling, volatile behavior in vacuum

Small bodies (Phobos/Deimos/ Comet/ Asteroid)

Space environment (UV, vacuum, etc.) diurnal cycle

Mars polar cap

Ice Low temperature Diurnal cycle

Atmosphere Surface sampling Gravity slightly higher

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deposits in permanently-shadowed areas of the moon. These locations may indeed be quite Europa-like. Issues such as photoelectric charging and the transport of dust (whose eects are not yet fully understood) may occur on the moon, and might oer useful lessons for similar processes that could occur (but have not been considered) on Europa. Interaction of a spacecraft with a cometary surface is anticipated in 2014, when the ESA Rosetta mission arrives at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The spacecraft will deposit a small lander which will anchor itself with harpoons and deploy a self-hammering spike into the surface. The surface composition may or may not be Europa-like, depending on whether only sublimation lag is present or if substantial volatiles such as water ice dominate the surface. A key dierence, of course, is the low cometary gravity which introduces complications that will not occur at Europa (specically, the reaction force on drills or similar devices). Asteroids and the moons Phobos and Deimos might also be visited on a timescale relevant for Europa lander preparations, however, these environments are less useful as Europa analogs than either the moon or a comet. A nal planetary environment of interest is Mars, and in particular the polar caps. Although temperatures in winter and at night may approach those at Europa, the presence of even the thin Martian atmosphere introduces convective heat transfer mechanisms are quite dierent from the purely radiative setting at Europa. Another potential issue in the thin Martian atmosphere, especially for instrumentation using high voltages, is the potential for electrical breakdown. 4. Conclusions A variety of research is underway in remote terrestrial locations which address the same types of biomarker detection problem which is likely to be a cornerstone of landed Europa science. No individual environment is a perfect analog to Europa either on Earth or on planetary bodies which we might expect to visit in coming years before a Europa mission. However, the usefulness of analog studies is principally to nd the unexpected in the hope of being better prepared for the unexpected at Europa. The utility of analog studies for outreach and education is also noted. Acknowledgements This paper was prompted by discussions at the Europa Lander Workshop at IKI in Moscow, Russia in February 2009. We thank the participants of that workshop for stimulating ideas. We thank the editors of the Special Issue for their patience. References
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