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The red planet has a new scar after a fresh impact crater was found on Mars' Elysium Planitia volcanic region.

Discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, astronomers believe it was created between February 2012 and June 2014.

The image shows a very distinct crater rim and ejecta that is much darker than the surrounding dust-covered terrain.

Discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, astronomers believe this impact crater was created between February 2012 and June 2014.The image shows a very distinct crater rim and ejecta that is much darker than the surrounding dust-covered terrain

The distribution of the debris around it suggests that the impactor struck from the west and Nasa is still calculating its size.

Researchers used the Hirise camera to examine this site after orbiter's Context Camera had revealed a change in appearance.

The 143lb (65kg), £26.4 million ($40 million) instrument was built under the direction of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

It consists of a 0.5 metre (19.7 inch) aperture reflecting telescope - the largest so far of any deep space mission. This allows it to take pictures of Mars with resolutions of 0.3 m/pixel (about 1ft).

The distribution of the debris around it suggests that the impactor struck from the west and Nasa is still calculating its size.Researchers used the Hirise camera to examine this site after orbiter's Context Camera had revealed a change in appearance

Elysium Planitia is the second largest volcanic region on Mars after Tharsis, and is around 1,050 miles by 1 490 miles (1,700 by 2,400 km) in size.

All of Mars' impact craters can be viewed using a map created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Virginia.

Taking 16 years to create, this colourful map describes the geography of Mars as it is today while also shedding light on the red planet's watery past.

'Spacecraft exploration of Mars over the past couple decades has greatly improved our understanding of what geologic materials, events and processes shaped its surface,' said USGS scientist and lead author, Dr Kenneth Tanaka.

'The new geologic map brings this research together into a holistic context that helps to illuminate key relationships in space and time, providing information to generate and test new hypotheses.'

Out of the thousands of craters, earlier this year one has emerged as the likely source of most of the Martian meteorites that have been found on Earth.

Researchers believe the Mojave Crater, a 34-mile (55km) wide basin on the Mars's equator is the origin of the "shergottites" meteorites.

These are a group of meteorites that includes about 75 per cent of the 150 known Martian meteorites.

Scientists are keen to learn where the meteorites came from as it would help them piece together the history of Mars.

 Taking 16 years to create, this colourful map describes the geography of Mars as it is today while also shedding light on the red planet's watery past

The 143lb (65kg), £26.4 million ($40 million) Hirise instrument was built under the direction of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.  It consists of a 0.5 metre (19.7 inch) aperture reflecting telescope - the largest so far of any deep space mission. This allows it to take pictures of Mars with resolutions of 0.3 m/pixel (about 1ft). An artist's impression is pictured