I mean landing on random planets & finding prothean artifacts, or a turian corpse (for example) was my favourite part of mass effect 1, which was never expanded upon in the sequels (they unfortunately ditched all the exploration stuff in me2 & 3). (gamechup.com)
You can meet strangers while wandering random planets. (inverse.com)
The problem with this is 1) random planets randomize, so leaving and coming back will present you with different terrain to explore and 2) this will conflict with story checkpoints. (androidgamespot.net)