Since 2012, Mars Curisoity Rover has been exploring the planet’s Gale Crater. In that time, the tools onboard NASA’s car-sized planetary exploration vehicle have been collecting lots of data to study biological, climate and geologic aspects of Mars.

With all of the tools onboard, scientists recently found a new use for the rover: measuring gravity from the surface of the planet.

They did so by utilizing accelerometers, a more precise version of navigation tools that are also in smartphones. A team that includes Johns Hopkins University professor Kevin Lewis was able to recalibrate the accelerometers onboard Curiosity to be used for gravimetry, or the measurement of small changes in gravitational fields. Results of the measurements were published on Thursday in the journal Science. The group of authors on the paper also included Nicholas Schmerr from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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