Pale Blue Dot is a non-fiction and is Sagan’s analysis of the role space will play in humanity’s future. It was written in 1994, and therefore one of his last publications, as Sagan tragically died in 1996. The title of the book, Pale Blue Dot, was taken from the instantly infamous Pale Blue Dot photograph taken by Voyager 1 in 1990. In his book, Sagan created a short analysis of the importance of the human exploration of space. His reasons range from spin-off technology to the intrinsic value of exploration and discovery. But what struck me the most about Sagan’s book was that although he talked extensively about these as, in general, good reasons to explore space, they weren’t the best reason. Or rather, they weren’t enough. Sagan goes on to argue that the single greatest reason to explore space is the survival of the species. Something as an individual I haven't ever really thought of. It is possible that we could destroy ourselves through nuclear war, yes, but that’s not the survival Sagan is talking about. He’s speaking about asteroids. There is a chance that at some point in the future a rock big enough to destroy human life will collide with Earth. Exploring space and developing new technologies is the only way to search out and redirect incoming asteroids. If incoming asteroids cannot be redirected it is important to the species that we have settled elsewhere. Really great book, highly recommend it.