Nothing can remain unchanged absolutely forever. But some things can remain relatively
unchanged for billions of years. One of these are asteroids.
If you'd want to store something for as long as possible you'd want to store it in the
coldest place you could find that would lack oxygen and would be protected from
radiation and mechanical disturbance.
One possibility are craters on the Moon's south pole. These are considered as one of
the coldest places in the Solar System, with a
temperature
some 33 degrees above absolute zero.
That is extremely cold but, as craters suggest, not a safe place to store something for
millions or billions of years.
The best place would have to be the interior of a bigger piece of rock in space
sufficiently away from a burning star and safe from collisions.
Temperature of interstellar space is less than 3 degrees above absolute zero.
Without a heat source, microbes can't decompose matter and if this matter
is stored sufficiently deep cosmic radiation won't be able to do the job either.
Let's say you are an advanced but extinction facing civilization due to decreasing
habitability of your home planet, what would you do?
Sure, you would probably pack some people, animals, herbs and other essential material onto
rockets and send them to a nearby planet or moon where they might have some chances of longer
survival. But that may be a very risky and a short-term solution at best.
Now let's say you're [conveniently] convinced that you are special and that no intelligent life, or life at
all, exists beyond your home planet or beyond your solar system. You will then probably want
to try to ensure this life doesn't disappear forever. The best thing you could do is to load up
a couple of asteroids with microbes, fungi, viruses and DNA (stored in seeds and eggs) and send
them away.
Let's say you're also very proud of yourself (and your DNA). In that case, although your pride
would usually mock the possibility of advanced civilizations beyond your home planet, you will have to
admit that the possibility exists and so you will want to make sure an advanced
civilization could notice your
little special ark.
The only thing that can permanently remain noticeable is the shape of
your asteroid.
Note that this asteroid does not have to be a rock already in space. It could be a piece of
rock you'd carve out of your home planet and simply launch into space in a direction of a planetary
system you suspect will be suitable for life once it arrives.
Now think about the unusual shape of 'Oumuamua. Originally thought to be in a cigar like
shape, it appears
a thin disc is
more likely.
Now ask yourself why are you feeling proud? Is that a coincidence?
Everything in nature has multiple purposes. What is the purpose of human civilization? It might
look like cancer but what if it was allowed to become cancer so it can develop into species that
can and will seed life throughout the universe (although that's surely not the sole reason, as my
theories suggest)?
If you think about it, who else would do it? Sure, natural asteroids created in
the Solar System can contain life, but they are unlikely to leave the Solar System.
All things considered, 'Oumuamua probably was launched by a dying human civilization and its
hoped for destination may have even been Earth. It failed, but not all human civilizations are
the same. Some hit, some miss, and even a failure can be relative - this one didn't land on
a habitable planet inside the Solar System but it still might land in some other.
To increase the odds you will probably launch at least two arks. But did 'Oumuamua really fail?
At the same year 'Oumuamua was observed an interstellar meteor (IM2, or CNEOS 2017-03-09) impacted Earth. Could it
have been something that separated from 'Oumuamua? Perhaps.
In what shape will
our ark be? In a cigar shape - to scream cancer, or a disc shape - to speak of
neutrality? And will
we design it in a way it shows peculiar behavior near a star?
If
we rush things it will be a smoking cigar, if we don't it may have greater chances
of survival.
So if you want to feel special, there you have it - human civilization has been
chosen by the
gods behind this universe as seeders of life.
Seeding of life should be understood relatively, life in some form at the destination probably
exists already. More appropriate term may be increasing diversity of life, which
is, nevertheless, essential for survival.
We are legion for we are many and we are many for we are Noah.