From the quote it seems obvious that the 'flight to Mars' comment is really focused on her own limited experience as a ""suburban midwestern teenager with a severe anxiety disorder". Not saying India is so weird it's like Mars.
She could have said the same expression about New York.
That struck me too. One of the first casualties of this sort of purity spiral seems to be simile and metaphors, everything gets taken literally and in totality.
She could have said the same expression about New York.