The fragility of the science pod

[3_bit]

When you think about it, it really shouldn't be too strong. Too hard of an impact and whatever cushioning you have surrounding those delicate instruments may not be enough. I'm afraid I haven't experienced a failure of the science pod nature, so I can't contribute much. It seems fairly durable to me.

[Mr. Entropy]

Before I unlocked landing legs, I just stuck a girder to the bottom of the science pod and landed that way. Simple, but effective.

[rdfox]

Never had a problem, myself. Usually just put a parachute on the nose of the spacecraft and a pair of radials on the sides of the Science Jr. This results in a slightly nose-down attitude under the parachutes that sees the capsule hit first, and the whole vehicle slow down before the Science Jr. touches down. Of course, it also results in a typical descent rate in the 3.5-4.5 m/s range, so YMMV.