I was disappointed to see this was the case with being able to blindly throw yourself at planets. However, with mods like SCANSAT, you can completely map, and you can end probes with gravity sensors and atmosphere detectors to return data and also practice landing with unmanned probes, rovers and landers before people are sent. You could also fly blind and dump your kerbals there in a crude fashion but its more down to the player and, I use the term lightly, a sense of role-play and respect for the... Structure, of the game. I, myself, have at least four probes to place, if you use remote tech you also have to set up comms networks. I think that, in some respects, mods will be give way more support and Squad will let the modding community craft the finer points of the game so everyone can have their own personal play style and game to play.