perhaps to map the world the explorer could go out to an area and release a drone (consumable), this would add the topographical data to the map for the area in which the explorer stands.
also perhaps use scouting drones, which you tell the drones what to look for, i.e. compound, resin, malachite or maybe even crashed ships, and once the drone (perhaps like a small RC car) becomes a beacon on your map, also they could be set with a finite battery life, so if they are unsuccessful (and run out of power) they just end up dead, however these could be recharged by the player, or by coming in