Carl Sagan published his science-fiction novel Contact in 1985. The novel follows Eleanor Arroway, an astronomer who detects an apparent message from an extraterrestrial civilization and becomes involved in humanity's attempt to respond.
Contact grew out of Sagan's long-standing interest in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, radio astronomy, and the question of how science might change if humanity received an unambiguous signal from another world. The story combines technical ideas with questions about religion, politics, evidence, and the limits of human knowledge.
Sagan developed the project over many years and eventually wrote the novel with contributions and influence from his wife and collaborator Ann Druyan. The protagonist's first name honors Eleanor Roosevelt, while “Arroway” was inspired by the surname of the French philosopher Voltaire, whose original family name was Arouet.
The book was adapted into the 1997 film Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Jodie Foster as Eleanor Arroway. The movie is related to the novel but changes several plot details and emphases.