I really appreciate that you included consideration of the imperialist or colonialist nature of sending people to study a planet, as well as staying aware that it might make people uncomfortable. The fact that the map that the players draw is present day but the gameplay takes place in the past is interesting, but might be confusing or difficult to remember.
This game would work really well as a worldbuilding game for a long term campaign-style game, because you're not just mapping the planet you can also create its history, and it feels really short and sweet.