Opportunity traveled 15 meters (49 feet) -- its longest trip since landing on Mars in January -- toward El Capitan, the mission's team said in a statement from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

NASA scientists are intrigued by the El Capitan area because of its ''varying textures and layers of dirt and rock,'' the team said.

''After a short siesta in the early afternoon, Opportunity will drive 30 centimeters (12 inches) to sneak a bit closer to the rocks in 'El Capitan' to get ready for the rock abrasion tool to do its work,'' NASA said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Mars, Opportunity's twin rover, Spirit, has used its left front wheel to dig a seven-centimeter (3-inch) deep trench in an aread called Laguna Hollow.

''The soil at this location is more cohesive than the material where Opportunity dug its first trench at Meridiani,'' NASA said.

Spirit beat its own distance record Monday by traveling 27.5 meters (90 feet) in one day across Martian soil.

Both rovers are seeking signs there was once water on Mars, which would be a sign that life once existed on the red planet.