A richly dense pattern of spikes -- each representing the emission of light from a specific molecule -- was found in the HIFI spectrum.

Among the molecules identified were those of water, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, methanol, dimethyl ether, hydrogen cyanide, sulphur oxide, sulphur dioxide and their isotope analogues.

Researchers anticipate that new organic molecules will also be identified in the future.

"This HIFI spectrum, and the many more to come, will provide a virtual treasure trove of information regarding the overall chemical inventory and on how organics form in a region of active star formation," said Edwin Bergin of the University of Michigan and principal investigator of the HEXOS Key Programme on Herschel.

"It harbours the promise of a deep understanding of the chemistry of space once we have the full spectral surveys available."

HIFI was conceived to open new wavelength ranges for high resolution mapping -- especially when inaccessible to ground-based telescopes.

"It is astonishing to see how well HIFI works," said Frank Helmich, HIFI principal investigator at the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research.

"We obtained this spectrum in a few hours and it already beats any other spectrum, at any other wavelength, ever taken of Orion."

"Organics are everywhere in this spectrum, even at the lowest levels, which hints at the fidelity of HIFI."

"The development of HIFI took eight years but it was really worth waiting for."

Identification of the many features visible in the Orion spectrum was dependent on tools like the Cologne Database of Molecular Spectroscopy -- a collection of spectroscopic data covering several hundred molecular species.

“The high spectral resolution of HIFI shows the breath-taking richness of molecular species, which are present, despite of the hostile environment, in the stellar nurseries and sites for planet formation”, said Jürgen Stutzki, HIFI-co-principal investigator at the University of Cologne.