Scientists have stored the human genome on a 5D memory crystal, which can survive for billions of years.
The team from the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) hope the crystal could act as a blueprint to bring humanity back from extinction in the future, should science allow.
The technology could also preserve the genomes of endangered plant and animal species.
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The 5D memory crystal can hold up to 360 terabytes of information without degrading over time, even at high temperatures.
It holds the Guinness World Record for the most durable data storage material.
The crystal, made from fused quartz, can withstand extreme temperatures, direct impact, and cosmic radiation.
The Southampton team, led by Professor Peter Kazansky, use ultra-fast lasers to inscribe data into nanostructured voids within silica, with feature sizes as small as 20 nanometres.
This method of encoding uses two optical dimensions and three spatial coordinates to write throughout the material, hence the '5D' in its name.
The crystal is stored in the Memory of Mankind archive, a time capsule within a salt cave in Hallstatt, Austria.
The scientists considered that the data might be retrieved by an intelligence, species, or machine in the distant future.
The information is presented in a way that shows the universal elements, the four bases of the DNA molecule, their placement in the double helix structure of DNA, and how genes position into a chromosome.
For a visual indication of which species the crystal relates to, the team paid homage to the Pioneer spacecraft plaques, which were launched by NASA beyond the Solar System.
Prof Kazansky said: "We know from the work of others that genetic material of simple organisms can be synthesised and used in an existing cell to create a viable living specimen in a lab.
"The 5D memory crystal opens up possibilities for other researchers to build an everlasting repository of genomic information from which complex organisms like plants and animals might be restored should science in the future allow.
"The visual key inscribed on the crystal gives the finder knowledge of what data is stored inside and how it could be used."
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