Class 4 probe

A class-4 probe was a type of probe utilized by the Federation for conducting close-range scientific research.

In 2369, Benjamin Sisko wanted to use a class-4 probe to make a full analysis of a subspace rupture that appeared off of Deep Space 9. 

A class-4 probe was also launched the same year by the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) to investigate a molecular reversion field encountered by the shuttlecraft Feynman. The starship also launched a series of class-4 probes to study the far side of a newly-discovered Dyson sphere, after the rescue of Montgomery Scott from the USS Jenolan. 

Later that year, Voyager launched a class-4 probe in an attempt to distract a large, aggressive space-dwelling lifeform. The probe though only seemed to make it angrier. 

In 2372, a Jadzia Dax proposed using a class-4 probe to test whether an artificial wormhole, created by Lenara Kahn and her team, was stable enough to allow starship travel. Dax believed this class of probe would provide a more accurate assessment because its shielding was similar to that on a starship. 

In 2373, a class-4 probe was used to transmit a location signal, as well as several farewell recording from the crew of the Defiant, after being trapped behind an energy barrier surrounding the planet Gaia. 

Klasse-4-Sonde