Star Trek supposes that in the future, we will go out in space ships and look for other life forms. More likely, as depicted in one of the greatest sci-fi books ever written and turned into a movie, "2001 A Space Odyssey" what advanced civilizations are more likely to do is to pick a moon near a life supporting planet, preferably one that is tidally locked, and hide instruments on the rear facing side to the planet that can monitor the world for life and communicate back data. That is what the monolith is in 2001.
So, what is this?
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/20/us/gallery/dawn-mission/index.html