I didn't think Panspermia was a bad contender. But I also don't understand why life necessarily had to start elsewhere if it had to start somewhere. It very well could have started here as a chemical reaction.
Discussion
Yeah it doesn’t have much explanatory power, it just moves the explanation to another planet. Not really that interesting science wise, but fun to think about.
Just finished Entangled Life which touches on this (not specifically directed). Seems organisms are pretty harder. If you consider selective breeding life could get pretty darn hardy.
Could presumably get naturally occurring directed breeding such as a planet that looses its atmosphere over time for example.