The existence of a second kind of life somewhere in the universe would be extraordinary. It would double the number of life-creating events we'd be aware of. It

The existence of a second kind of life somewhere in the universe would be extraordinary. It would double the number of life-creating events we'd be aware of. It would take the number of off-earth origins of life from 0 to 1. To the degree that it's different from ours, it would vastly expand the scope of what we understand "life" could be. Or to the degree that it's similar, that would tighten the boundaries a bit. Even if it turns out to be just meteorite-driven contamination from earth, it would be hugely informative to know it could work. Of course there's no need for us to look forever. A century would more than do it. Even a decade of really concerted effort would be hugely informative; we'd either find it or not.