I only bought the game in 0.19, however I have do a screenshot of my earliest Mun lander. Looking back now, I had no idea what I was thinking. Don't ask.
It didn't occur to me whatsoever that putting the decoupler just underneath the command pod would make any difference. Only when I staged did I see the extent of my failure..
I did an idiot. After my first successful Mun landing in 0.22, I came home with pockets laden with science, only to jettison 70% of said science on re-entry. My heart sank as I watched the 2 goo modules and the Science Jr. disappear in to the ocean.
I think when you do the science it is stored in a command capsule and you only need to return the command capsule back. For a station with multiple command capsules, i'm not sure.