Slippery concept, as always.
To boot life on a planet, all you need is a single bacteria that can thrive in it’s environment, and then a shit-ton of time.
And that’s it. If you could make a bacteria that could thrive in one of Titan’s lakes, release it, and wait… it would spread. Unless it died before it divided the first time, chances are growth would be fairly exponential, minus of course the recessive setbacks all life cycles encounter. If you were actively seeding a planet for life you’d want more than a single bacteria to be your start, but you could, in effect, make a good stab at inducing life with just the one. The first generation has a 50/50 chance – divide and life starts, die and that’s it. Each successive generation will have a smaller and smaller chance of extinction.
And if there’s one thing that’s everywhere you want to be, it’s bacteria.
Tags: nerd with a capital N, wild speculation, yes this is really how I amuse myself