Seems to be a good idea to had various "points incentive" mini-missions! ʕ✧ᴥ✧ʔ (to replace/counter-balance some big-radius searching for the middle-game artefacts, before having a vehicule, or prefering that slow types of stuff to make points etc...)
Maybe have a system to replace one mission per day if not fitting for us? (if they are "static", and not replace day by day)
If one do not care for that, they will skip it... so no worries here (no pain, no gain? lol).
One last thing to Cairn4: The change in v0.53 to build a rocket to "finish the mission & go home" was a good addition i think (love it!) to galvanise the flow of the game, add an extra layer of crafting (easier with all the upgrades to do!), and a final solid goal (doubled by an interesting mecanic to reach a far away base!) Way to go! *clapclapclap*