Stack,
I'm also looking forward to the new Mars rover and Helicopter that's landing today. An ancient lake bed is certainly a good place to look for concrete evidence of life beyond Earth.
Considering more empirical evidence of life elsewhere, I've considered the Fermi Paradox.
They rightly wonder why if so many exo-planets or small galaxy worlds exist, then why haven't we been contacted?
I'd say its because both models still suggest worlds that are to far away. Space travel is very slow because of the lack of atmosphere.
I do think they have tried contacting us through FRBs - Fast Radio Bursts - which have been repeating in a predictable manner suggesting an intentionally sent signal. Whether we have decrypted them at places like the SETI Institute - Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence - I don't know, but I once heard a clip that sounded like friendly animals, water drops, and a submarine.
Lastly, have you heard of the Arecibo Message? It's the message we sent in 1974 to a star cluster with coding that describes DNA, basic Chemistry, an image of a human, the solar system, and a rough population estimate.
Funny enough, somebody sent back the same coded message with a few alterations in a crop circle with the picture of an alien! *See attachment
They also provided a slightly altered view of our solar system.
I don't think aliens sent us this message, rather people with advanced technology here on Earth.