Who is Janov Pelorat from Foundation and Earth and what is their importance?

Pelorat is a friend of Travize and a scholar who gathered myths and stories of Earth. He travels with Travize on his quest to find Earth, offering information, serving as translator and helping with the search for clues. Pelorat apparently agreed to the trip with little thought to his own safety or comfort and pledges to stay with Travize throughout the quest. Pelorat is quickly convinced of the rightness of the decision to incorporate all humans into a single consciousness - Gaia. It could be that Pelorat is swayed because of his love of Bliss who was one part of Gaia. Bliss gives Pelorat an occasional glimpse into the shared consciousness, which could be the reason Pelorat approves of the plan.