The “Alien Whale Probe" was an interstellar device whose objective is believed to have been direct communication with Earth’s indigenous humpback whale population. The probe was first observed in 2286 by the U.S.S. Saratoga. The unidentified object was estimated to be about five miles in length and cylindrical in shape, with a spinning lit sphere protruding near the front end. The probe was broadcasting sounds that could not be deciphered or translated. Saratoga’s hails of universal peace and hellos received no response from the cylinder, and Starfleet was advised of the probe’s apparent trajectory towards Earth. The probe had a neutralizing effect on spaceships in its path; Saratoga lost all internal power and began to drift. After multiple ships were neutralized and further attempts to communicate with the probe were unsuccessful, Starfleet issued a “Do Not Approach” notice for all vessels inbound to Earth. Both the alien probe message and the distress signals from Earth were received by an inbound vessel carrying Admiral James T. Kirk and five of his former crew from the U.S.S. Enterprise, who were able to identify the sounds as recordings of humpback whale songs.

The humpback whale, a dominant species of cetacean that predated humanity on earth by some 10 million years, had become extinct due to human activity sometime in the 21st century. Admiral Kirk’s daring solution was to execute a slingshot maneuver to travel back in time and bring humpback whales back to the present to reply to the probe. A pair of whales were successfully brought to 2286 and released into the ocean, where they began to “sing”. The probe responded by turning off its power neutralizing field before departing from Earth’s orbit and leaving the solar system.

Ship Model (Physical)

As portrayed in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Film, 1986)

This mid-1980s motion picture production, like Star Trek: The Original Series in the 1960s, looked for ways to minimize expensive post-production effects by building practical models to create effects in camera. The sparse description of the probe in the script called for "a simple cylinder, non-threatening but huge in size, with odd, eye-like antennae." Pre-production storyboards depicting a simple cylinder with a vaguely whale-like feel were designed by Art Director Nilo Rodis-Jamero with creative input from the Film-Maker’s Cooperative in Los Angeles. Actualizing the model became the responsibility of the model shop at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), who built a prototype of a cylinder covered with barnacles and an antenna made with a section of irrigation pipe. The first models developed and filmed colored the main cylinder blue with a crusty white coloring, but this was re-imagined after the first shots were reviewed; the probe needed a sense of menace that was lacking in this organic rendering. The models were repainted in a shiny black, and the surfaces were pockmarked to provide texture. Backlighting and a fog filter completed the eerie redesign.

Three separate models of varying sizes were built and filmed from multiple angles. The main model used was an 8’ cylinder that was roughly 2’ in diameter, with a hole at one end for the antenna ball. A 20’ model with a tapered end enabled the team to use forced perspective to evoke a sense of massive scale. The antenna was given its own internal light source: a thin plexiglass tube with a bright tube lamp was placed in the center of the antenna, and halogen amps were set around to add a diffuse glow. Larger antennas were built for closeups. 

In the same year (1966) that ST: TOS debuted, an international ban on hunting humpback whales was placed; the population of humpback whales in the Northern Pacific Ocean was estimated to have dropped to a mere 1,400. Scientists and musicians seized upon the whale’s song as the means to raise awareness of the plight of the whale worldwide. 1970 saw the first release of whale sound recordings, a collection of hydrophone recordings by marine biologist Roger Payne. Dr. Payne would later provide the whale sound recordings used in ST: The Voyage Home directly to director and star Leonard Nimoy. Artists like Pete Seeger and Judy Collins released anti whaling protest songs that same year, and this growing awareness led to the U.S. finally banning all commercial whaling in 1971 and the humpback’s early inclusion in the new endangered species act in 1973. Whale song was featured on the recording launched with the spacecraft Voyager in 1977. The wide release of Star Trek: The Voyage Home triggered a new round of public interest in whale conservation, with donations to Greenpeace skyrocketing after the movie’s release. The actor Nimoy and biologist Payne found themselves collaborating again the following year, with Nimoy featured reading poetry and other passages for the album “Whales Alive”.

In 2016, most humpback whales, including all of the populations found in U.S. waters, were removed from the endangered species list. The North Pacific Ocean population that had bottomed out at 1,400 in 1966 was now estimated at a robust 21,000, with projections that the population would continue to grow at a rate of about 7% per year. Star Trek’s role in raising cultural awareness is recognized for contributing to the rebounding of the species.