  Despite their very low surface gravities, asteroids exhibit a number of
different geological processes involving granular matter. Understanding the
response of this granular material subject to external forces in microgravity
conditions is vital to the design of a successful asteroid sub-surface sampling
mechanism, and in the interpretation of the fascinating geology on an asteroid.
We have designed and flown a Taylor-Couette shear cell to investigate granular
flow due to rotational shear forces under the conditions of parabolic flight
microgravity. The experiments occur under weak compression. First, we present
the technical details of the experimental design with particular emphasis on
how the equipment has been specifically designed for the parabolic flight
environment. Then, we investigate how a steady state granular flow induced by
rotational shear forces differs in varying gravitational environments. We find
that the effect of constant shearing on the granular material, in a direction
perpendicular to the effective acceleration, does not seem to be strongly
influenced by gravity. This means that shear bands can form in the presence of
a weak gravitational field just as on Earth.
