It was reported by the European Space Agency (ESA) from Paris on 30 November that Director General Jan Wörner had signed a Memorandum of Intent with Rolls-Royce, as the two entities agree to investigate how space technology can be used to develop autonomous and remote-controlled ships. The partners will pool their expertise to analyse and implement space-enabled services for autonomous and remote-controlled shipping, which reduces the opportunity for human error and allows ships’ crews to concentrate on more valuable tasks. It is understood that the plan is to study the applications of various space assets to autonomous shipping, such as satellite-based positioning, better situational awareness using Earth observation data, and satellite communications (satcom) services for improved onboard connectivity.