Research dinghy

A research dinghy was a type of spacecraft attached to Federation starships. It was boat-shaped, smaller and slightly faster than a shuttlecraft, and was virtually all sensors, to pick up highly detailed readings, from to wind shifts to storm patterns and even microorganisms.

In 2364, Commander Riker used a research dinghy to go after Data, who had taken a shuttlecraft in an attempt to make contact with an alien creature.