The European Space Agency is currently testing, in Earth orbit, a postage stamp-sized experiment that may eventually be used to search for life on Mars.
The experiment works on the same principle that underlies simple pregnancy tests; the tiny area is packed with chemicals that glow when exposed to proteins and DNA. Of course, that is Earthly DNA. If life on Mars is based on a different kind of genetic molecule... well, presumably there would still be proteins.
If the experiment survives being exposed to the vaccuum and radiation of space, it could fly to Mars on the ESA's planned "ExoMars" mission-- a robotic rover scheduled for launch in 2013.
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