Is there an Actual way of "solving" the Drake Equation?

When I was a kid, I always watched Star Trek TNG with my dad and there were many new and interesting species shown. But since I got into Astronomy more with the years, I always asked myself If there's a way to know how many species there are, in our galaxy alone. And with that question I had come to learn about the Drake equation. But everyone says that it's unsolvable, because we don't know most of it's variables. But can't we make pretty could assumptions about the variables, based on the stuff, we know about life and how long it took us to develop to the status quo today?

A link to the Nasa government website with the Drake Equation: https://science.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/are-we-alone-in-the-universe-revisiting-the-drake-equation/