text: All six landings, including the first, took place on the near side.  The prime reason was so that the astronauts could stay in radio communication with Earth, and radio waves don't travel well through 2160 miles of rock.  All lunar seas are on the near side, except for the Sea of Moscow.  One landing, at Taurus-Littrow, did not take place in a sea.  Taurus is a mountain chain, Littrow a neighboring crater, but they are on the near side.