Is it possible to make the DirectionalLight component function like a PointLight?

It’s not possible with a directional light because that’s not how it works.

You could effectively write your own shader but you have no good way of handling cast shadows.

Probably the easiest option would be to have different lighting for space and planetary views, so that when you’re on the planet you switch to a directional light to get proper cast shadowing, when you’re in space you use your own lighting done inside your materials.