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　　Nie was born in September 1964 in Zaoyang County, Hubei Province. He joined the army in June 1983. Nie has successively served as a pilot of an aviation regiment of the Air Force, commander of a squadron, deputy commander of a group and master navigator after graduation from the No.7 Flying School of the Air Force in 1987. He has a record of 1480 safe flying hours and has been awarded as Grade I pilot. He became one of the first batch of astronauts in January 1998. In September 2003, he was selected as a member of the first echelon for the first manned space flight of China. He is 172 cm tall and weighs 67kg. Fishing is his chief hobby.

　　"With Shenzhou VI, I am at the same starting line as my comrades-in-arms are."

　　Many comrades-in-arms know me well, since I was a member of the first echelon for the Shenzhou V manned space flight, and for that matter, I have made my appearance in the public. Since then, I have been drawing the attention of innumerable people. And I have received letters from comrades-in-arms throughout the army and the inevitable question from them is "Will your turn come this time to fly Shenzhou VI?"

　　To me, this is not only trust and but pressure as well, even more so. Although I made the first echelon last time, that was past and it means nothing this time. As far as the policy of choosing astronauts for Shenzhou VI is concerned, the principle of the higher authorities is "to reshuffle the deck and start fresh". That means I am standing at the same starting line as everybody else.

　　"I have asked myself numerous times, if I can make it for the Shenzhou VI space flight."

　　Regarding the space flight, it is a matter of being picked up or having to wait for your chance for all the astronauts, and there is no intermediate choice. Can I be chosen? It is a question I have asked myself for hundreds and thousands of times.

　　To this question, I have only one answer: Keep on working hard, spare no efforts in the training and never get slackened!

　　Training means repetition. There is no novelty to speak about in the training, since I had already done every item of the training for numerous times last time. As the time passes by, I could not help getting a bit bored. However, Yang Liwei told me when the spaceship entered the orbit, he felt he was standing on his head. It was an illusion in the weightlessness status. He managed to overcome the illusion quickly. It seems that training is necessary and there is no end.

　　"Having confidence in oneself is not enough and one must also have confidence in his comrade-in-arm."

　　The Shenzhou VI space flight will carry two astronauts. So, since April this year, when my partner was decided, I have lived and trained with Fei Junlong, my partner, as much as possible to get familiar with each other's disposition, personality, fondness and even the meaning of facial expression or gesture.

　　This kind of psychological compatibility training is very necessary although we are closely associated. In the space flight, we are like two players in the doubles of table tennis. They cannot talk, when one serves. But a simple gesture, even a simple glance would be a telltale to his/her partner what kind of service one would make. The highest realm of such compatibility is confidence in one's comrade-in-arm.

　　"I am full of appreciation when recalling the road I passed."

　　Many reporters have asked me, "What is on your mind after going through such a breathtaking selection again and after experiencing marked ups and downs in your life?"

　　The answer to this question is: I feel neither lucky nor immensely complacent. When recalling the road I passed, I am full of appreciation.

　　I was born in a small remote mountainous village. When I graduated from the high school, I had the chance to take part in the examination for pilot selection by the Air Force and was enrolled successfully. On the train, the officer who came to enlist pilots handed out half a catty ( a catty equivalant to 500g) of candies which was one cent a piece to each of us. And in no time, I finished them all.

　　So, my military career started with sweetness. It was the army that offered me, a poor child, the chance to have a promising future. Later, I took part in the selection of astronauts and was chosen as a member of the first echelon for Shenzhou V in 2003. This year, I was picked as member of the first team for the Shenzhou VI space flight.

　　This is the road I passed. I am fostered by the Party and nourished by the people. My mind and body belong to our motherland. At the moment I set out for my journey to the space, my military salute embodies all my aspirations:

　　The honor belongs to our motherland!

　　By Zhao Bo, Liu Bing and Mou Jiajin

　　(Oct. 13, PLA Daily)