In a move that reflects the increasingly prickly debate over the role of social media in the workplace, Nasa has ordered the Phoenix Mars lander to cut back on its social media activities and ‘get on with some real work’.

Since Phoenix landed in the northern polar region of Mars, scientists at the mission centre at the University of Arizona have become increasingly perturbed by the remote explorer’s obsessive use of Twitter and other social media tools to keep its followers up to date on arm movements, location and the new Windows 7 UI.

“We tried asking Phoenix about the icy substrate observed last Thursday,” says Alan McEwan, Communications Director, Nasa. “But all it wanted to talk about was the Yahoo reorg and the latest valuation of LinkedIn.”

McEwan is increasingly concerned about the impact of social media on the lander’s productivity. “It’s there to dig deep into the Martian soil and search for evidence of microscopic life. Instead it has posted yet another set of dull snaps of rocks and stuff. And sent 250 updates to Twitter. Viking’s photos were rubbish as well, but at least we knew it wasn’t wasting time obsessing about the number of its followers.”

McEwan has warned Phoenix that it needs to get back to billable work. “Who the heck is interested in entries like ‘I’m looking forward to moving my arm today.’ The wretched machine is posting more fuzzy photos than a whistle-blower in an iPhone factory.”

In response, Phoenix says that it needs to stay abreast of the latest developments in social media as microblogging, RSS and community platforms will play a critical role in future exploration of the solar system. Speaking to TNM Phoenix says: “Interplanetary Exploration 2.0 has a secure business model and a clear roadmap towards the monetisation of content.”  Pressed further to describe this activity, Phoenix said, “It’s not possible to say exactly when or how, but Robert Scoble says so, so it must be true."