After taking pictures for several hours, Spirit moved 19 meters (62 feet, four inches) toward a crater dubbed Bonneville. It paused for a moment, and then carried on for another 8.5 meters (27 feet, nine inches), NASA said in a statement from its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Spirit traveled 21.2 meters (23.2 yards) last week, beating the record previously held by the Sojourner rover that NASA sent to Mars in 1997.

Spirit used its robotic arm Sunday to examine an unusual-looking rock that NASA has dubbed "Mimi." Unlike neighboring rocks, "Mimi" is stratified.

Scientists will study pictures of the rock in a bid to understand the area's geology.

Spirit and its twin Opportunity, which is roving on the opposite side of the planet, landed on Mars last month on a three-month mission to determine whether Mars once had the conditions to host life.

SPACE.WIRE