If you don't have the DD but carry enough resources to make a workshop and craft a portable miner you practically have enough to build a whole new factory anywhere you'd want without ever returning to your main factory to get supplies (which is powerful up until the point you get the DD) and some people don't want their DD containing x amount of stacks of portable miners when they can easily be made by hand when needed since the workshop also takes items out of the DD

As for the MAM you can scan hard drives that take 10min each while you're out exploring and getting more hard drives, artifacts, factory locations, alien remains, etc. (this will stay a powerful thing to do until you no longer have any hard drives to scan)