"We want to inspire young people to participate in Mars exploration."
But he said the bulk of its funding will come from corporate sponsors and billionaire philanthropists to fund the mission.
"We're in very serious discussions with partners. We are more confident than ever that we can make this first mission a reality," he told a press conference.
"This is the next giant leap for mankind. The most exciting event in history.
"The Olympics was worth $4bn in TV rights, so I think footage of the first humans on Mars has a lot of value."
The involvement of Lockheed Martin is a boost for the project - the firm has been involved in many Nasa missions to the Red Planet.
And the firm has already begun designing the lander, said its civil space chief engineer Ed Sedivy.
"This is the first privately funded exploration of a planet. If you think about that, it's really, really cool," he said.
"This is the dawn of a new era of space exploration. We're really excited."
Sir Martin Sweeting, of SSTL, said the firm would adapt its existing low-cost Earth orbiting comms satellite, external to cope with the demands of a 24-hour Martian TV programme.
A much bigger antenna will be needed to beam back live HDTV, and larger solar panels to cope with the greater distance from the Sun.
"Mars has been a dream for us for many years," he told the press conference.
"For me, this is what it's all about."