NASA has successfully repaired a faulty space station pump, marking the end of a rare Christmas eve spacewalk.

The spacewalk, completed by Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins, was part of a ongoing plan to repair a failed pump on the International Space Station.  The second and final spacewalk for the emergency repair mission took place yesterday, Christmas Eve. It took 7 hours and 30 minutes.  According to NASA, the pair of astronauts worked to install a replacement coolant pump weighing 780 pounds from the dock bay to Loop A of the station’s external cooling system. Sunday’s spacewalk  was primarily focused on astronauts disconnecting the pump and transporting it to another docking point, where they secured it in place. That portion of the operation took 5 hours and 28 minutes, according to the U.S. space agency.

The spacewalk did have one unexpected result: It provided those of us on Earth with a stunning view. NASA broadcast the spacewalk live on its television network, allowing followers to track the spacewalk’s developments in real-time.

While the replacement will likely solve the problem, NASA did note earlier this  month that it will continue to examine the issue.  NASA has hinted at additional missions in the future to update the space station, which is approaching its 20th anniversary.

Overall, the team of ISS astronauts said they were excited to spend the holiday season in space, and that they look forward to continuing their mission on the space station.

“First of all, we have great connectivity with our family back home,” Mastracchio said in a Dec. 13 interview with Space.com. “We have an I.P. (Internet protocol) phone, and the ground sets up video conferences with our family on the holiday.”

As for what is next, Mastracchio and his team say they are expecting some holiday treats on a private Cygnus cargo ship, but a delay has forced that to mid-January following the station’s cooling system malfunction.

NASA spokesman Josh Byerly at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston said the space station crew has an off-duty day today, though Mission Control will staffed to support the crew.