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Well, it's similar to what you say.
We shouldn't cross the Atlantic until we have the technology to build the QE2.
But why would anyone develop the technology to build the QE2 unless they're planning to cross the ocean?
Some developments are application-specific. There's no earthly analogy to sending men to another planet, no offshoot of some other project, so you have to tackle that specific problem to develop the technology to get it done. To do it, you have to want it. Or it won't get done.
I was referring more to the base level of technology that would make such a journey economically feasible (or at least, not prohibitively expensive). Landing a man on Mars will be much easier once we have nanotechnology...but developing nanotechnology is not dependent on a trip to Mars.