Accurate simulation of atmospheric mass density in the aerospace transition region is crucial for the orbit prediction and the on-orbit safety of VLEO (very low Earth orbit) spacecraft. Based on the high-resolution in-situ thermospheric mass density obtained by the European Space Agency's GOCE(gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explore) satellite in the VLEO region, a systematic evaluation of the GCITEM model, an theoretical model independently developed in China, was carried out for VLEO atmospheric environment, and compared it with the empirical thermospheric model (NRLMSISE00). The results show that under geomagnetically quiet conditions, the GCITEM model exhibits a mean relative bias close to zero, effectively eliminating the systematic overestimation in the empirical model. During geomagnetically disturbed periods, GCITEM demonstrates lower prediction uncertainty, and its physical mechanisms more reasonably capture the thermospheric response to energy inputs. GCITEM maintains the robust and adaptive performance across all seasons, with the smallest simulation error in autumn. The results confirm the superior performance of the GCITEM model in simulating VLEO thermospheric density and highlights the potential of physics-based numerical models for high-precision space environment modeling and aerospace engineering applications.