Jing Haipeng was born in October 1966 in Yuncheng, Shanxi province. He joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force in June 1985 and became a Party member in September 1987. He had 1,200 hours of flight time when he became one of China's first astronauts in 1998. He was selected as one of six trainees for the Shenzhou VI mission in 2005 and for the prime crew on Shenzhou VII in 2008. He was commander of Shenzhou IX in 2012, the first mission to dock with the Tiangong I space laboratory. 

Chen Dong was born in December 1978 in Luoyang, Henan province. He joined the PLA Air Force in August 1997 and became a Party member in April 1999. He had 1,500 hours of flight time when he was selected as an astronaut in May 2010.