Biographies of Shenzhou XII astronauts

Major General Nie Haisheng, 56, a native of Hubei province, joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force in June 1983. A veteran astronaut, he is the incumbent head of the PLA Astronaut Division.

Nie was an experienced pilot of an Air Force fighter jet regiment before being selected in January 1998 as one of the nation's first astronauts.

He was one of the two alternates to Yang Liwei, who was chosen to conduct China's first manned spaceflight in October 2003.

In October 2005, Nie performed his first space mission onboard the Shenzhou VI spaceship with Fei Junlong, fulfilling the country's first multiday crewed spaceflight.

In June 2013, he carried out his second space journey in the 15-day Shenzhou X mission with Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping.

Nie was selected for the Shenzhou XII crew in December 2019.