If that's the case, then you can just strap a parachute and a few separatrons to the science module on a decoupler. Point retrograde, fire the goo into a reentry trajectory while keeping your ship in orbit.
You can science just fine, but you can't generate any crew-specific experiments (crew report, EVA report, surface sample). Things like the goo container and material bay should work just fine with an unmanned probe.
Does anybody have a simple explanation of how you move the longitude of the ascending node once you're already in orbit? I've been removing inclination then just tilting it back up once I'm at a given point, but I pretty much have no idea what the heck I'm doing so it never ends up the way I want it to.
Sortable tables would be nice once you get detailed stats up. Being able to arrange unfinished experiments by their remaining value would go a long way towards getting out of the beginning Career Mode rut. Thanks for throwing this together, it's really handy.