Recent discoveries show that some icy moons and dwarf planets in the outer Solar System may have conditions suitable for life. These worlds are now top targets for future missions looking for life. To protect scientific investigations, planetary protection policies are being updated. The international space science group COSPAR has adopted a new “Icy Worlds” framework that sets rules for exploring these bodies responsibly. The policy defines which worlds are considered Icy Worlds, excluding small bodies like comets and asteroids. It introduces scientific limits on where Earth life could survive (based on temperature and biological water availability) and uses these limits to guide how missions are classified. It requires a 1,000-year protection period for any potentially habitable environments, assessments of spacecraft crash risks, and rules for handling heat created by impacts. It also simplifies mission categories and uses an established approach to decide whether samples returned from Icy Worlds must be handled under strict containment. These updates ensure exploration can proceed while protecting both these unique worlds and the scientific search for life.