In the long term? Depending on the biochemical nature of the alien life, this could be helpful or obstructive in our attempts to colonize other planets. If alien ecologies that can support human life exist, would they be safe to colonize? Would it be RIGHT to colonize them, considering the huge number of extinctions that the introduction of us and all our pets and diseases would undoubtedly cause? There are a lot of issues to take into consideration here.
For the time being, its a scientific curiosity and nothing more.