The goal of the experiment was to use relative gravity measurements to infer potential attributes about the geological substrata near the Apollo 17 landing site.

The concept of the experiment was to take a proven technology and methodology in the form of marine gravity surveys and design an instrument that could be operated in a mobile manner by an astronaut on the surface of the Moon.

This device was itself derived from surplus accelerometers, originally made by Bosch, that were in operational use on the SM-65 Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile.

[1] Inertial guidance accelerometers, like those in intercontinental ballistic missiles, were particularly suited to the purpose of an astronaut operated traversal gravimeter due to three main attributes: a large range of sensitivity, comparatively small size and weight, and the ability to calibrate the instrument under low acceleration conditions.

[4] Power to the instrument was provided by an internal 7.5 volt battery capable of outputting up to 340 watt hours over a 15-day period.

[3] Integration of the sensor and construction of the instrument housing and mounting was undertaken by Draper Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

[7] The vibrating string accelerometer was extremely sensitive to changes in temperature and so the instrument had a number of thermal control mechanisms.

[7] The experiment found that the Lunar Module landing site had a gravity value of 162694.6 ± 5 mgal.