It’s feared the discovery of a vast underground water system hidden beneath the barren surface of Mars could show that Earth is facing a bleak future.

Scientists have found evidence of an ‘active groundwater system’ which pumps water from a depth of 750 metres up to the Martian surface.

Which might sound like good news, because the presence of water makes it more likely that life could survive on the Red Planet.

But the discovery could show Mars resembled Earth in the past – meaning our own world could be destined to become just as grim and desiccated.

During the study, scientists analysed Martian features called ‘Mars Recurrent Slope Linea’ which are ‘dried, short streams of water that appears on some crater walls’.

It was previously believed these were caused by water flow on the surface or just beneath the ground.

‘We suggest that this may not be true. We propose an alternative hypothesis that they originate from a deep pressurized groundwater source which comes to the surface moving upward along ground cracks,’ Heggy added.

Scientists used data from radar probes on a Nasa satellite orbiting Mars to study the craters, drawing on their own knowledge of similar water systems in deserts here on Earth.

‘The experience we gained from our research in desert hydrology was the cornerstone in reaching this conclusion,’ said Abotalib Z. Abotalib, co-author of a paper on the research.

‘We have seen the same mechanisms in the North African Sahara and in the Arabian Peninsula, and it helped us explore the same mechanism on Mars.’

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